Long Way Home
by BlackTithe
Summary: (sequel to The Devil Within) Alex is back, and nothing is the way it used to be. Bobby is gone. Sam has move on to someone else, and she is not the same person she once was. Will Sam and Alex be able to find their way back to one another? Or is the distance between them just too great? Rated M for some sexual content
1. Prologue

_Author's note: This story exists because you, the readers, asked for it. I received so much amazing feedback on my first story that it gave me the courage to continue to try writing. You have been asking for more Sam and Alex, so here it is. I hope you enjoy and review._

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.  
**

_Prologue_

The feel of the bone going through Dick's neck was far more satisfying than he ever thought it would be. Even if it didn't work, it sure as hell felt good.

Elation soon turned to confusion and fear as waives of some mysterious energy began emitting from Dick's body. Dean had heard his brother and Kevin enter the room, but he couldn't bring himself to look away from what was happening in front of him. He watched as Dick's face twisted into what could only be described as a smile before he suddenly exploded.

Sam did his best to shield Kevin from the black ooze with his body. Once it was over, he turned back to check on his brother only to find that both Dean and Cas were gone. His eyes began to scan the room in panic before he yelled, "Dean!"

* * *

It took a moment for the world to come into focus. The woods Dean found himself in the middle of were grey and dull. He could hear a rustling sound and what he could only guess to be the growl of some vicious animal. He rose to his feet and tried to figure out where he was. Cas was nowhere in sight.

The sounds kept getting closer and closer as he turned in circles trying to figure out where it was coming from, but it was no use. It was coming from all sides. An exit was what he needed. Knowing which way to go was almost impossible without knowing where the attack was coming from. So he decided to fight. He reached for his gun and found it was missing. He was completely unarmed.

Three ravenous creatures suddenly sprang forth from the tree line and began to converge on him. _This is it,_ he thought. _The end of the line._ One of the creatures knocked him to the ground and raised a massive claw, preparing to strike. Dean readied himself for the death blow, but it never came. Instead he heard the creature nearest to him give a howl of pain.

When he looked to the creature now lying dead at his feet, he saw that an arrow was protruding from its chest. There was a whistling noise and another creature fell. Suddenly, someone jumped from the trees and landed directly in front of him.

They dropped their bow and drew what looked like a machete from a sheath at their side and began slicing threw the creatures one by one. Each fell as quickly as the next. Dean watched in awe. It took him a moment to realize that his savior was a woman.

Her hair auburn was tie back into a loose French braid that flied around her as she sliced and diced the monsters attacking her. Before long, the last monster fell. She had her back to him, but he could see her shoulders rising and falling with her rapid breaths.

Slowly, she turned to face him. His eyes grew wide when he saw her face. He stared into all too familiar blue-grey eyes he had long since given up on seeing again. There, standing before him covered in blood was someone he thought he would never see again.

"Alex?"

She gave him a slow half smile.

"Hey Dean," she said. "Welcome to Purgatory."

**Please review. Your feedback helps me to keep writing.**


	2. Chapter 1

Author's note: Wow! The number of favorites and follows I have received already is overwhelming. You guys rock! Thank you all. Also to Leah Tatyana Nicole, I am sorry that the preview I sent you does not appear in this chapter. Things change a bit in the editing process. There will be a moment similar to that in the future. I promise.

**I do not own Supernatural or any characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 1_

"Alex?"

She gave him a slow half smile.

"Hey Dean," she said as she put her blade away. "Welcome to Purgatory."

He stared at her for what felt like an eternity, completely dumbfounded. The woman standing before him, covered in blood, was the same one he had seen follow his brother into the pit years before. So great was his bewilderment that it took him a moment to realize what she had said.

"Wait, did you just say Purgatory?"

Alex placed her blade back in it's sheath and picked up her bow. "Yeah" was her only response.

Dean stood and looked around in trepidation. He could hear more of the hideous creatures approaching.

"Come on," Alex said as she scanned the trees. "We can't stay here." She turned and started marching in the opposite direction. She was already a yard into the trees before she realized Dean wasn't following her. She turned and looked back at him.

Dean was still rooted to the spot. Everything was happening so fast that he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around it all.

"You can stay here if you want," she said, "but you'll be dead in an hour." She started moving back towards him, stopping a few feet in front of him. "Look, Dean, not to get all Terminator on you, but come with me if you want to live."

They walked in silence for what felt like hours. Dean kept alternating between studying the woman in front of him and scanning the trees for things that go bump in the night. Alex never wavered. She moved ahead with a singular determination. Each step took them closer to a destination that only she knew.

Soon they came to the mouth of a cave. Alex strode in confidently without pause, Dean following closely behind.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Somewhere to rest for the night." Dean looked back at the mouth of the cave to see that it was in fact still daylight. When he commented on it she responded, "It won't be for much longer. If we're going to get far enough back into the cave to light a fire without drawing attention we need to do it now. Oh I almost forgot." She turned and looked at Dean. "Make sure you only step where I do. I've got traps set all over this place."

Dean started taking extra care to step in the small footprints Alex made. He was so engrossed in watching his feet that he didn't notice she had stopped until he ran into her. There was hardly any light left in the cave at this point, but Dean could still see the annoyance in her eyes.

"You didn't have to follow quite that closely," she said.

"Yeah well… just wanted to be sure." Alex rolled her eyes at him. Dean noticed that they seemed to be in the very back of the cave. "This it?"

Alex crouched and pointed to a small opening in the rock that was just big enough for them to crawl through. "Not claustrophobic are ya, Dean?" He watched her take off her weapons and place them in front of her as she began crawling into the dark hole.

The dark crawl space wasn't terribly long, but when Dean emerged on the other side everything was pitch black. He could hear what sounded like rocks hitting one another as small sparks appeared. Soon a fire roared to life in the center of a cavern.

It was obvious that this space had been lived in for a while. Dean could clearly make out what appeared to be a few beds along the walls. Alex knelt in the center of the cave tending to the fire. As she stood, Dean could see her putting away the flint she had used to start the fire.

"Welcome to my humble abode," she said, spreading her arms as if showcasing her surroundings.

"You live here?"

Alex shrugged. "I'm not sure I'd call it living. More like where I go at the end of the day when I'm too tired to fight anymore." She started moving around the space, putting away her weapons and such. It didn't take her long to realize that Dean was still just standing in the entry way. "You gunna sit down or what? You're gunna give me a complex."

Dean moved farther into the room. When he was near the fire, Alex enveloped him in the tightest bear hug he had ever received. He was only caught off guard for a moment before he returned her embrace. "Man it's good to see you, Alex."

"Yeah. Wish I could say the same." Dean pulled back from her in confusion. "So how'd it happen?"

"How'd what happen?"

"How'd you die?" She stepped back and took a seat on one of the logs placed near the fire.

"What?!"

"I'm sure it was a dozy. Would have to be for you to want to stick around and haunt someone. Who was it? Were you haunting Sam? Did he live a good life after you died?"

"Whoa. Whoa. What are you talking about?"

"You were a ghost right?" Dean's brows drew together as he sat down opposite of her. "Who finally put you to rest?"

Dean's mind was spinning. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, that's why you're here. Purgatory is for monsters, Dean. The only humans I've ever seen here were ghosts that got the salt and burn treatment. I'd always hoped that I'd never see you or Sam here unless you were breaking me out. From the look on your face when I said purgatory I'm going to gues that isn't it, so since you're here my guess is a hunt went south and you stuck around to keep an eye on Sammy. Sound about right?"

He shook his head from side to side as he let her words sink in. She thought he was dead. "I, uh, I'm not dead."

"You're not?"

"No. I was just standing a little too close to Dick when he blew."

"Who's Dick?"

Dean told her the story of the leviathan, how Cas had taken all of the souls from Purgatory into himself and somehow took those monsters in as well. A thought came to him, "Wait, if Cas took all the souls from Purgatory, what are you doing here?"

Alex looked confused. "You mean Sam never told you?"

"Told me what?"

"What happened to us?"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "No. Hell, he didn't even remember his time in the pit."

Alex shook her head and gave a small huff. "That explains a lot." She took Dean's expression as a sign to continue. "We didn't go to Hell, Dean. We went to Heaven."

The hunter was astonished. How could Sam not remember that? When they met Joshua he told them that they had been there before and didn't remember sure, but if they were not meant to remember Alex should have no recollection of it either. Her voice cut through his revelry.

"It was wonderful." Alex had a far off look on her face as she took a seat and began to described the little piece of paradise she had shared with Sam. The softness in her voice displayed the fondness with which she viewed those times. "Ash came and visited us a time or two. I even got to see Pam again" Dean smiled. "He kept talking about what it was going to be like when you joined us. Yeah," she nodded, "they told me about your little field trip to the garden."

Dean shook his head, still trying to understand what she was saying. "Then what happened? How did Sam end up in Hell and you get stuck here?"

* * *

_Alex lay in Sam's arms as they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Time seemed to stand still here. There were no worries. No pain. Dean was safe. Cas had promised them that. The visit from Ash earlier in the day was not entirely unexpected. Sam had told her about running into him in Heaven when he had visited with Dean while she was under Lucifer's power._

_Was it still the same day? Time didn't really have a meaning to them anymore. In truth, Alex wasn't even certain that there was a difference between night and day anymore. There was just…the moment. And at that very moment, Alex was very much enjoying the thought of helping Sam wash that slight sheen of sweat off._

"_We should probably get cleaned up," she said. _

_Sam merely grunted, his eyes remaining closed. The arm that was not holding her to his side was thrown above his head. Alex's weight on his chest was a comfort he once feared he would never feel again. Now he had her for all eternity._

_They would have been content to spend that eternity doing exactly the same. Until one day when an unexpected visitor came calling._

_They were resting on the couch, watching on of Alex's favorite Katherine Hepburn films when an angel they had never met suddenly appeared before them._

"_Dean is in danger," he said._

_The couple quickly rose to their feet._

"_What do you mean?" asked Sam._

_Alex chimed in, "Castiel promised us that a legion of angels would protect him. Dean is fine."_

"_Castiel is in no position to make that promise," he said. "The angels are at war. All those who were protecting your brother have been recalled to the battlefield."_

_Sam was confused. "Why are you telling us this?"_

"_The angels that were guarding your brother are loyal to Raphael. He has agreed to return them to their posts on one condition."_

_Sam and Alex's emotions were balancing on a knife's edge. Their perfect paradise had been shattered in a single moment. While they had been basking in each other's company, Dean had been left as a lamb to the slaughter. He was an incredible hunter. Maybe even the best the world had ever seen, but he was only half as good without his brother by his side. The Winchester's had accumulated a lot of enemies over the years. They may not know how long they had been away, but they were sure that it was long enough for the whole of the supernatural world to hear the news. That meant they would all be gunning for Dean and anyone close to him would be collateral damage._

"_What's the condition?" Alex asked._

_The angel leveled his gaze solely on her. "Castiel should never have brought you here. You are the Mayfair. You have no place in Paradise. By the nature of your very birth you should be rotting in Hell as we speak." His words cut like the cold hard steel on a highly sharpened blade, fast and clean. He turned his attention to Sam. "You gave Lucifer permission to claim his vessel. It is unatural for you to escape the fire down below while he burns for all eternity. All Raphael asks is that you accept the true nature of your eternal resting place and return to your rightful home."_

_Sam could feel Alex trembling beside him and pulled her more tightly into the circle of his arms. It was a fate they had both feared, but had once been willing to accept to save those they loved. Now they were faced with that choice again. By agreeing to the archangel's terms, they would save one of their own but condemn themselves to eternal suffering._

'_Dean would do it for me,' thought Sam. 'He has done it.'_

"_Okay," he said. "I'll go, -"Alex looked up at him in shock. "- but Alex stays here."_

"_No, Sam," she said. "You're not going anywhere without me. If you go, so do I."_

_They studied each other's faces for a moment as the contemplated all they had learned. Silence was the only sound to be heard as they looked into each other's eyes. The look in one mirrored the other. There was a finality there that neither could argue with. A decision had been made, and they were in total agreement. No discussion was required._

* * *

Dean was stunned. "Wait a minute. You two gave up Heaven because some asshole angel told you it would keep me safe?"

"Pretty much," she said as she took a drink of water.

"What the hell, Alex!?" Dean exclaimed. He leaned forward on his knees and continued. "You were in Heaven. Everything was perfect. Why would you give that all up?"

Alex looked directly into his eyes as she spoke, her voice calm and steady. "Because it was you, Dean!" He moved away slightly at her outburst. "You, Sam, and I are a team. No, we're family. There is nothing we wouldn't do for each other. If things were reversed, can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't do the exact same thing to keep one of us safe?"

He looked away. What she said was true. Dean had willingly gone to Hell for Sam once. Knowing everything he did now about what would be waiting for him upon arrival, he would gladly do it again. Memories of his time there began to race through his mind, coupled with what Death had told him about the state of Sam's soul when it had been recovered.

Sam had barely kept it together. Dean was there to ground him. Sam and Alex had done much the same for him. He was grateful for that. A thought crossed his mind, and he looked to the woman sitting across from him. She was back to staring into the fire. Watching her, Dean could see subtle changes in her. The mirth that used to dance in her eyes was gone. Instead of dancing with laughter, they were as hard and cold as stainless steel.

Clearing his throat he asked, "So what happened?" She shifted her eyes to his face. "How did Sam end up top side, and you get stuck down here?" She looked back into the flames and began telling her story again.

* * *

_The smell of her own flesh roasting filled her nostrils as another piece of flesh was slice from her bones. A cry of pain stuck in her throat. Her ability to scream in pain had left her long ago, her vocal cords bleeding from the abuse and causing her to taste blood when she tried. She could hear Sam's screams serve as evidence of his own anguish._

_She had lost track of how long it had been. The years had melted into a constant stream of blood and pain. One of the few consolations she had in her turmoil was that Michael and Lucifer were getting much the same treatment that she and Sam were. Their screams of agony joined in chorus with their own._

_Each day passed much like the last, until one day the walls ripped open in a burst of light and an angel appeared in Hell. He began fighting back the demons that tortured them as he made his way towards Sam. He cut the hunters binds, setting him free. _

_Sam fell to his feet, to weak to stand on his own. The angel pulled him up by the arm, healing him as he went. Before he could flee with Sam in tow, another group of demons rushed in and began attacking him._

_With the angel distracted, Sam was able to take up one of the bloody knifes used to torture his beloved and set her free. He cut her binds and pulled her into his arms._

"_Come on," he said. "Alex, come on. I'm getting you out of here."_

_He started pulling her towards the fighting angel of their salvation. Upon seeing her in Sam's arm's the angel became very upset._

"_No! I was only sent for you!" he yelled to Sam._

"_I'm not leaving without her!"_

"_I'm sorry."_

_The angel actually looked apologetic as he grabbed Sam roughly by the arm, causing him to lose his grip of Alex as he began pulling him towards the exit._

"_No!" he yelled. "Alex!"_

_She reached her hand towards him. He grabbed her hand with all of the strength he could muster._

"_No wait! We have to take her with us!"_

_The angel kept insisting that he was only sent for Sam, but he continued to fight to get free and reclaim her hand. Finally, he manadge to latch on and began dragging her after him. They were nearly home free until one of the injured demons grabbed Alex's ankle and began to pull her back to the Pit. His grip on her was so strong that her hold on Sam began to lessen._

"_Sam!" she called._

"_Alex!"_

_He reached for her with both hands as she began slipping from his grasp. As her hand began to slip through his fingers he could feel his soul going with her. Just as she was about to lose her hold on Sam completely, she summoned all of her strength to kick the demon off of her leg. The demon let go with a howl of pain, but it was too late._

"_No!" Sam bellowed as his soul reached out and attached himself to her. Without something solid to hold on to, she lost her balance and fell forward onto her face. _

"_Sam!" she cried as she pulled herself up onto all fours and reached for him, but he was already too far away. All she could reach was the shadow of him, a shadow that as she fell to the ground came with her. Alex watched in horror as Sam was dragged away from her. She looked at the two pieces of him. A pale shadow came to rest at her side while his body moved farther and farther away. The look in his eyes as he did became hard. They no longer looked at her with the love they had once held._

_The remaining demons began to scramble towards the shadowy figure of Sam next to her. She looked at it. The eye she saw there held the look she knew so well. "Go," it told her. "Hurry!" It turned and tried to fight of the horde of demons bearing down on them._

_Alex drew herself up and ran towards the remaining light the angel left in its wake. She could no longer see Sam or the angel. The gap threw which it took Sam was rapidly closing. In a last desperate attempt, she leapt forward towards the closing gap and just managed to make it through._

_She landed hard on cold ground in the middle of a forest. She could hear creatures closing in on her from every side. Sam and the angel where nowhere in sight._

* * *

"I've been here ever since." Alex hung her head slightly as she finished. She kept expecting Dean to say something, but there was only silence. Eventually the silence stretched on to the point of discomfort. Alex looked up at Dean who was sitting there dumbfounded.

He was looking at her with what she could only describe as pity. She didn't look away. She met his gaze dead on and waited for him to say something.

"Wow! Alex I… I uh…," he struggled to find the words to express what he was feeling at that moment. What do you say to the person who left Heaven for Hell to save you and then got stuck Purgatory because an angel only wanted your brother? There is nothing you can say to make up for that, but Dean wanted to try. "Alex, I'm so –"

She cut him off. "Don't you dare tell me your sorry, Dean." There was something akin to venom in her voice that caused Dean to raise his eyebrows in astonishment. She hardly ever spoke to him like that. "I'm not. I know you and Sam looked for me. That's all that matters."

Dean just nodded. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that Sam had come back not caring where she was, or that they were so busy dealing with the leviathans that they had actually spent very little time looking for her after the initial leads ran dry. He simply nodded his understanding and left things as they were.

"Get some rest, Dean. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

Alex stopped in her process of settling into her resting place and said, "Tomorrow we start your training."

"Training? Sweetheart, I've been hunting my whole life. I don't think there is anything you can teach me."

"Oh really? Than tell me, Dean. What are the three most likely monsters you're going to run into in Purgatory and how do you get rid of them? Where else can you take shelter when darkness comes?" Dean didn't answer. "I thought so. Now get some rest. We've got an early start tomorrow."

**Please review. Your feedback helps keep me going.**


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 2_

The bed was the most comfortable thing Dean had ever felt, and the beautiful blonde beside him made it very difficult for him to get out of it. _What a crazy dream,_ he thought. _Of all the places…_ then something suddenly dawned on him. _Purgatory!_ Purgatory was the only possibility they hadn't considered. He had to tell Sam.

Dean moved as carefully as he could to avoid waking his bedfellow. He dressed as quickly and quietly as possible. His hand was on the door when he heard her call his name in an all too familiar voice. Turning, he saw that the blonde had been replaced with his long lost friend.

"Dean," she said as the horror he felt intensified. "Dean, get up. Dean!"

* * *

He jolted upright and quickly looked around for his painfully absent gun. His eyes finally fell on Alex as she loomed over him. "Time to get up." She tossed him something he guessed was supposed to be breakfast. "It's time to get moving. We've got a lot to do today."

She gathered up her weapons and started crawling through the opening, Dean close behind her. He followed her back out into the open before speaking.

"So what's the plan, Rambo? How do we get the hell out of here?"

"There is no way out. All we can do is fight." She turned and looked him up and down. "You need a weapon. That knife in your boot isn't going to cut it." She started marching towards the rising sun. "Let's go. It's gunna take us a while to find supplies."

"Supplies for what?"

She stopped and turn towards him yet again as she drew what he previously thought was a machete from it's place at her side. It was in fact a crudely made bladed weapon. The handle looked like it was fashioned out of some sort of bone. The blade was a black stone that had been chipped away at until it held a razor sharp edge. It was attached with some sort of strap.

"Here." She tossed him the weapon. "You can use mine until we can get you one. Keep your eyes open. They could show up at any time."

"They?"

"The monsters. Keep your eyes open."

They moved through the wood quickly. Alex's eyes kept scanning the ground for the stone she needed while Dean's eyes kept watching the trees. The unsettling silence was starting to get to him. Alex had always been one to shoot the breeze. The woman leading him through the trees was eerily silent. She hadn't said more than two words to him since they left that morning. All she did was move forward.

She suddenly stopped moving when she heard a rustling in the trees. She held up her hand in a gesture signaling to Dean to stop moving. She drew an arrow from her quiver and notched it carefully. They waited. The sound grew closer and closer. A low demonic growl sounded behind them.

Turning, Dean saw the creature racing towards him. He gripped his weapon tight and prepared to fight. There was a whistling sound near his ear and suddenly there was an arrow protruding from the creature's chest. He spun and found Alex still perfectly poised with her bow in hand. He was in complete awe of her. He didn't even know she knew how to use a bow until the day before. Now she was proving to be quite the marksman.

"Give me the blade," she said as she moved forward. Dean handed it to her in stunned silence. She didn't even look at him as she took it from him and descended upon the creature.

It looked at her in mild panic as she raised the weapon. It tried to beg her, but she just drew back her arm and gave one mighty swing, severing it's head from it's shoulders. He fell to his side, dead.

Dean was shocked by what he saw. His heart began to fill with trepidation as he watched Alex examine the body for a moment before she began to hack off one of the creature's legs.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting you a handle. Femurs work best. They're stronger. Wood will just break on you when you need it most. This," she gestured to the severed leg, "this will last a hell of a lot longer. Hand me your knife."

"I already gave it to you."

She tossed the blade aside. "Not that one. Your hunting knife. The one strapped to your ankle."

Dean reached down and slowly retrieved the weapon "How'd you know that was there? The rest of my stuff is gone."

"I went back this morning before you got up to see if I could find any clues about how you got here," she said. She reached into her own boot and retreaved Deans pistol. "I found it on the ground." She tossed it to him. "It won't be much use to you though."

Rage started to slowly boil up inside of him as he looked down at the much needed weapon she had kept from him. "Why are you just now giving me my gun?"

"Guns aren't worth shit down here, Dean. You can only use a bullet once."

"And what about those?" he asked as he gestured to the arrow.

"These?" She pulled the arrow from the monsters chest. "If I can't get it back, I can make more. You rely on that pistol here and you'll be dead before you know it. There's no way to make more bullets. Blades are better. Now give me the knife."

Dean handed it over to her and watched as she used it to butterfly the thigh muscles to get at the bone. Something had happened to her. Sure there was her time in Hell. That would change anybody, but this was something more than that. This was not the same Alex he had known. She had changed far more than he could even begin to comprehend.

* * *

Word soon spread throughout Purgatory that there was a human traveling with the Mayfair. The fact that it was a Winchester was something the monsters only learned when he and Alex were cutting them down to size.

Each day was much like the next. They ventured forth from their shelter and fought any monster that crossed their path until the sun started to set. Then they would take cover in one of the many refuges Alex had prepared and get ready for the next day. Before they knew it, years had passed. They learned each other's rhythms and movements while fighting to the point that they could seemingly communicate without words.

It was during one of their many hunts where they first heard Cas was there as well. Dean was shocked. Why would Cas abandon him to fight alone? It was a question that Dean wanted answered, and Alex was more than willing to help him with.

* * *

Dean's time in Hell was proving to be useful once again as he worked to get answers out of the vampire tied to the tree in front of him.

"Where's the angel?" he asked. There was no answer.

"I'm not sure he knows," Alex said in a disinterested tone as she twirled an arrow in her hand.

"Oh he knows." Dean slammed his hunting knife into the vamps thigh and twisted it.

The vampire screamed in agony. "There's a stream," he moaned.

"Go on."

"It runs through the clearing not far from here. I'll show you."

Alex sprang forward and pressed her blade to his throat with both of her hands. "How about you just tell us," she said.

It looked to Dean with pleading eyes. He just stared at it with cold indifference. "I'd answer the lady." It gulped and continued.

"Three days journey. Follow the stream. There's a clearing. You'll find the angel there."

The hunters shared a brief look and nodded. Alex looked back to the vampire. "Okay," Alex said with a slight smile. She dropped the blade and took a step back. "We believe you."

The vampire sighed in relief as the tension left his body just as Dean swung his own blade and severed the monster's head. The look of surprise was still on his face when it hit the dirt.

Dean and Alex shared a pair of satisfied smiles. "Let's go find ourselves an angel."

* * *

Alex stopped walking and began surveying the area around her. They were two days into their journey and she had finally reached a point where she no longer had prepared shelter. This was the edge of her domain. There was no way they would make it back to cover before total darkness fell, nor did she want to give up the progress they had made.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked as he watched her eyes shift to the treetops.

She notched and arrow in her bow and took aim at something only she could see in the treetops. "Finding shelter." She let the arrow fly. Dean stood amazed as a vine presented itself in front of her like a great green rope. He had seen her make incredible shots countless times over their years together, and she still managed to amaze him with her skill.

"When did you become the Green Arrow?"

Alex gave a small sarcastic chuckle. "I've had a lot of time to practice," she said before mounting the rope and beginning to climb. She was half way to the top before she realized Dean wasn't following her. Wrapping the vine around her left foot, she managed to create a rest so that she could turn and look back down at Dean. "What's the matter Dean? Afraid of a little rope climb?"

"No," she heard him mumble before he walked towards the rope and they both began to climb.

They reached several branches in the top of the tree that had vines woven all through them creating a net of sorts. Climbing onto the branches, they settled down in the web for the evening after pulling the vine rope up to them.

After a while, Dean began to think about what Alex had said about having time to practice. She would have had a considerable amount of time to acquire that much skill. Sam had reentered his life around two years before he arrived in Purgatory. He had never learned just how long he had been back before then. It was too difficult of a topic to discuss. He started to think about his own time in Purgatory. He knew it had been a few years, but he quit trying to do an exact count after the fourth painful year had passed with no sign of rescue.

If he had already been there four years, he could only imagine how long she had been there. He had woken to find Alex saving him. What had she seen upon her arrival? Who had helped her? She had been plucked form Hell and placed into the center of a war zone all alone.

"Alex," he began. "I'm sorry." She gave him a questioning look. "I'm sorry we didn't get you out."

"It's okay," she said with a shrug. "I've accepted my fate. I looked for you guys every day at first. Then after the first hundred years I just gave up." Dean's eyes widened in shock. Alex was too lost in her own thoughts to notice the change in her companion.

"The first hundred years?"

"Yeah. I figured you all were dead after that, so I just started praying that I would never see you here. I've meet a lot of lost souls down here, Dean. They were all vengeful spirits that got the salt and burn from hunters like us." She looked at him then. "That's what I thought had happened to you when you magically showed up. That's the only reason I could think of for you to be here after all this time."

"Alex, how long have you been here?" he asked. A weight settled in the pit of his stomach as he waited for the answer.

She thought about it for a moment before answering. "I'm not exactly sure," she said. "As best I can tell . . . two hundred years or so." She saw Dean become ashen. "What's wrong?"

"I, uh. . . Alex," he said softly. "I don't know how to say this…"

"Out with it, Dean. I'm a big girl. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

He looked her dead in the eye. "Alex, you were only gone for two years."

Her eyes grew wide for a moment before she looked away. _Two year?_ She thought. _It's only been two years. That means there's still hope. Sam could still find me._ A small smile formed on her face.

"What is it?" Dean asked upon seeing her give a slight chuckle.

For the first time since he arrived, Dean saw hope in Alex's eyes. "We're getting out of here, Dean," she said. "Tomorrow we'll find Cas. Then the three of us are getting the hell out of her."

"I thought you said there was no way out."

"Don't you get it, Dean? If I had only been gone for two years when you first showed up, that means it's only been a few months for Sam at the most. That means he is looking for us." Alex smiled her first real smile in over two centuries. "He's going to find us, Dean. We're gunna go home."

Dean did his best to return her smile as he watched her lean back into the vines with a sigh of contentment. He did not have the heart to tell her that they stopped looking for her when the Leviathan came. There was no point in opening that particular can of worms. Now that they were taken care of, Sam could focus on finding her again and when he did, he'd find him too. There was some comfort in that. _Yeah, we're going home._ At lease he hoped they would make it there one day.

**Please review. Your feedback keeps me writing.**


	4. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Thank you to all who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. You are the ones keeping me motivated._

**I do not own Supernatural or any characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 3_

The sound of running water greeted their ears as they slowly made their way to the edge of a clearing. Dean and Alex took extra care to make as little noise as possible. It had already been an eventful morning. Six vampires, two chimera, and a wendigo had already tried to crash the party and the sun was not at it's highest point yet. Seeing Cas kneeling by the stream, washing his hands was one of the most beautiful things they had ever seen. A beard now graced his usually clean shaven face, but there was no denying that it was him. Dean was so full of joy seeing his angelic friend that he could not stop himself from yelling out his name.

The angel stood and turned in the direction he heard his name coming from. "Dean," he said as the saw the hunter immerge from the trees.

"Cas," he said as he enveloped the angel in a rib crushing hug. "Damn, it's good to see you. Nice peach fuzz."

"Thank you."

His eyes were drawn back to the tree line by movement as Dean finally let him go. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the blood drenched woman moving towards them. "Alexandra?"

"Hello to you to, Cas," she said with a chuckle. "Long time no see."

He looked back and forth between the two in bewilderment. "How did you get here?" He asked Alex.

"Long story. Maybe I'll tell you later."

"How did you find me?"

"The bloody way," Dean said.

Alex watched the two talk with a small smile on her face. She'd never admit it out loud, but she had been rather lonely over the centuries. After spending so much time waking next to Sam and seeing Dean every day, finding herself alone and literally fighting for her life every day was not easy. Seeing Dean with his pet angel warmed her stone cold heart.

"So where have you been?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Alex chimed in. "From what Dean told me the two of you would have arrived together, but when I found Dean he was on his own. What happened?"

"Look, we were surrounded, okay?" Dean offered. "Some freak jumped Cas. Obviously, he kicked its ass, right?"

"No."

"What?"

"I ran away."

Both Dean and Alex's eyebrows shot towards their hairlines at his statement.

"You ran away?" Dean asked.

"I had to."

The excuse sounded pathetic to his own ears, but Castiel knew no other way to express the reasoning for his actions. Every hellacious creature that roamed this prison would be drawn to him like a moth to the flame. If he had stayed with Dean, there would have been no way for him to keep his friend safe.

Dean of course didn't see it that way. All he saw was betrayal.

"I prayed to you, Cas, every night."

He had a hard time meeting Dean's eyes as he spoke. "I know."

"You know and you didn't…" Rage began to boil in Dean's blood. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"I am an angel in a land of abominations. There have been things hunting me from the moment we arrived."

"Join the club!" Dean yelled. "If Alex hadn't show up when she did, I would have been dead. So don't try to feed me some bullshit line about it being for my own good because things would have gone a hell of a lot better if the three of us had been in this from the start!"

Alex came up and placed a hand on Dean's shoulder in an attempt to calm him before his screaming attracted more attackers. He just shrugged her off and took a step closer to the angel. He tried to explain the bounty the Leviathan had for him, but it didn't seem to do much good.

"Just leave me, please," Cas said as he took a step back and made to leave them.

Panic filled Alex as she saw her one change at freedom slipping away. "Cas, wait!" she lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "You have got to help us get out of here. You're our only hope Castiel."

There was genuine sadness in his eyes when he looked at her. There was a mixture of hope and desperation on her face, and it broke his heart to tell her that he could not help them. "Alex, I'm sorry."

"Then what are we supposed to do huh?" Dean asked. "Just spend the rest of eternity fighting every low life son of a bitch that we already put down once?"

Alex gave Dean a look that said he clearly was not helping before turning back to the angel. "I heard a rumor once that there was a door, an escape hatch. I looked all over for it, but I couldn't find it."

Dean was a bit surprised by this. She had never mentioned this failed escape attempt. She had only mentioned waiting for them to rescue her. The desperation in her voice had not gone amiss. Dean could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen emotion from Alex since he arrived her, this was one of them.

The angel noticed the near tears in her eyes as her last hope of freedom began slipping through her fingers. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he didn't know if it would help her. His eyes began shifting, looking anywhere but her face. Her eyes grew wide when she realize he was hiding something from her.

"So it's true," Alex said, hope returning to her voice. "There really is a way out?"

Castiel nodded. "For a living human, yes."

Something about the way Cas said that did not sit well with Dean. There was something the angel was holding back. "What are you saying, Cas?"

"The angel looked between the two hunters for a moment before sighing. He had hoped it would never come to this, but the look on his friends' faces told him he could not delay any longer.

"You will be able to pass through, Dean. Alex and I may not be so lucky."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked. She had been dreaming about going back every night since she realized that Sam was most likely still alive somewhere. Now, to hear that her dreams might not become a reality, it was destroying the last piece of her soul that was left.

"Cas looked at her with a pair of puppy dog eyes that would rival Sam's. "The portal is designed for a living human soul to pass through. You and I," he inclined his head towards Alex, "are not exactly human."

Alex stumbled back a couple of steps and bumped into Dean's solid chest.

"What do you mean, Cas?" Dean asked.

"I am an angel. While I may be in a human vessel, the escape hatch is not angel-friendly."

Alex gulped. "What about me?"

"You are the Queen of Hell imbued with an angel's grace. I'm not sure that qualifies you as human any longer."

If he was being perfectly honest, he would have told them that he knew for a fact it didn't. Every human soul in Purgatory had been inside his body. He could name them all. Each was a lost soul biding its time in an attempt to atone for less than damming offences. If Alex were in fact human, she would have been released to her final judgment with the others. Her soul had not been in Castiel's body. Only the human souls were. The Leviathan had been looking for him and had been clever to disguise themselves. Alex he could not explain.

Dean could feel Alex begin to shake slightly under his hands and it scared him. She had been as solid as a rock up to this point. Seeing her in such a state brought back memories of her catatonia after seeing his brother die. She had barely moved and hardly eaten. According to Bobby she didn't say a word for weeks until she said Sam's name when he showed up alive at her door. The thought of seeing her like that again scare him more than Dick Roman ever had.

"We'll figure it out alright?" Dean said. "Cas, buddy, we need you."

"Dean…" he thought about fighting the hunter for a moment until he saw how he was holding the woman standing in front of him. It was as if his hands on her shoulders were the only things keeping her from shattering into a thousand pieces. He knew it was pointless to fight. "All right," he said, "but you are not going to like where we are going."

* * *

More Leviathans kept pouring into the clearing. They were like the mythological hydra. For each one they cut down, two more seemed to appear in it's place. Dean and Alex kept trying to settle into the synchronous rhythm with which they usually fought, but they had to keep saving the angel's ass.

Castiel was next to worthless in the fight. Hand to hand combat was nothing new to him, but without his blade all he could do was touch them. Getting that close got risky fast. He managed to lay hands on the monster in front of him. So focused was he on that one creature that he didn't notice the second one coming up behind him.

"Cas!" Dean shouted.

It was just enough warning for him to move out of the way before the creature's teeth chomped down on his skull. He turned, locking eyes on the creature as he prepared to devour him once again. It never got the chance. Alex separated it's head from it's shoulders from behind while Dean finished thinning out the rest of the herd.

Once they were satisfied that they were once again safe for the moment, Cas thanked Alex for saving his life.

"Don't mention it," she said.

"We must be getting close," said Cas as he started leading them through the woods again.

"Really?" Dean asked. "I don't see crap. I mean, what the hell is this escape hatch supposed to look like?"

"I don't know."

"Wait, what?" Alex grabbed Castiel's arm and force him to look at her.

Dean quickly joined in. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I'm not sure."

"We have been neck deep in Leviathan for weeks," Alex said. "I know you said it was going to get worse before it got better, but we can't keep going like this. We are smack dab in the middle of their territory. If we go much farther we won't survive. I have waited way too long and fought to damn hard to lose now!"

The volume with which she spoke had risen with every word she spoke. If she kept it up, the Leviathan would be on them again even sooner. A fact that she knew well, but at that moment she really didn't care. Dean could see her strength failing, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to keep her steady. She was reaching towards hysterics and frankly, it scared him. She had taught him everything he knew about this place. Without knowing it, she had become the fearless leader that he needed. Watching her fall apart now would not do him any good.

Alex had never meant to lead anyone. Her only thought when she first saw Dean was making sure that his soul had enough time to work off whatever it was that landed him there so that he wouldn't have to serve a second stint in Hell. Then when she found out that he was alive, she felt the first bit of peace she had in decades because she knew Sam was still alive. When Cas said there was a way out, she had felt hope. After what equated to nearly three centuries of nothing but war, the only thing keeping her going was slipping through her fingers. She wasn't sure she could take it if the life that had been dangled in front of her was ripped from her grasp yet again.

"Hey," Dean said, "we're all getting out of here okay. The three of us are going home."

"Dean," said Castiel, "it's a human portal. There's still no proof that an angel can pass -"

Alex had regained her composure somewhat. "Stop it, Cas. We all get out, or none of us do."

"I'm just saying…"

Dean was the one to cut him off this time. "Save the Hallmark. Okay? It's gunna work. Nobody gets left behind."

They moved into another clearing, ready to defend themselves from another attack. Instead they were greeted by a strong wind. It carried the leaves and several blades of grass with it. Alex followed the path one of the leaves took, and her eyes were greeted with a very welcome sight.

"There it is," Castiel said. High above them on a cliff was a ball of energy. It cackled with blue lightning in its black depths. He looked towards Dean. "It's reacting to you."

Alex wasted no time in running up the steep cliff space. "Let's go!" She yelled as she continued to move as fast as her tired legs would carry her. The screaming of her muscles and the tiredness in her bones no longer mattered her only thoughts were of home, of Sam.

Dean did not have to be told twice. He followed closely behind his friend, matching her step for step. It was not until he heard Castiel call his name Turning, he could see the angel sliding down the cliff on his stomach.

"We've got incoming," Alex said as Leviathan begin streaming in from the sky. Dean looks back and forth between his two companions for a moment, trying to decide which way to go. Alex answered that question for him. "Get Cas. I'll hold 'em off."

Dean rushed forward and helped the angel to his feet. A quick check to make sure he was alright and Dean turned back to the fight. Alex was holding her own against a trio of trash compactors. She slashed one across the stomach. The Leviathan doubled over in pain directly in front of Dean who was more than happy to help his friend by decapitating the monster.

They fell into their fighting rhythm while Cas tried to get close enough to lay hands on one of the Leviathan to purge it of evil. The rest were quickly dispatched. Dean looked up and saw that the portal was slowly shrinking.

"We got to move!" he yelled. "The portal's closing!"

They raced for the portal, but Cas once again fell behind. Alex reached for him. "Cas, come on! We've got to go!"

Dean was the first to reach the portal and quickly stepped inside. "Come on!"

Alex reached for his hand. He pulled her to stand next to him. Pain shot throughout her entire body as the lightning began to attack her. She screamed out in agony before quickly losing consciousness. Dean was able to catch her before she fell. After securing her lifeless form with one arm, he extended an arm to Cas. The angel quickly grabbed a hold.

The energy swirled around them and pulled hard on Dean as it began to close around him. He could feel Cas' grip slipping. "I got you! Hold on!"

"Dean!"

"Hold on!" If he could just keep a hold of Cas for a few more seconds, he was sure they would all make it through.

"Dean!" Cas forcibly broke Dean's grip. "Go!"

Dean looked at his friend in shock and sorrow as the portal closed.

* * *

A gasp sounded from Alex's lips as air rushed into her lungs and her eyes flew open. She looked up to see Dean leaning over her. His shoulders slumped in relief as their eyes met and he pulled his hands away from her chest.

When the portal had closed, her heart had stopped. Dean had been terrified that he had lost both her and Cas in their attempt at escape. Cas had been the one to let go, but in Dean's mind he had lost his hold on his friend and left him behind to keep fighting alone when the darkness closed in. His eyes had refocused to find a lifeless Alex in his arms.

It took him a moment to realize she wasn't breathing. Dean's own heart nearly stopped when he found that she had no pulse. The only thing he had known to do was CPR. He was on his third round when she had suddenly taken a deep inhale of breath and opened her eyes. He let out a long breath of his own.

"Thank God. I thought I'd lost you there."

"I'm okay," she said weakly as she sat up. "Did it work? Are we out?"

Dean took an appraising look around them and found them to still be deep in the woods. It was night. He could see stars shining brightly above their heads tough the branches of the trees. _Were there stars in Purgatory?_ he asked himself.

"I'm not sure."

Alex suddenly realized there was one less in their company. "Where's Cas?"

Dean bristled slightly. "He didn't make it."

Alex nodded her understanding. She knew that getting the three of them through was a long shot. Hell, it had nearly killed her if the ache in her ribs was anything to go on. She still had her bow and blade. Dean had his weapons as well.

"No sense is just sitting around," Alex said as she moved to stand and notched one of her few remaining arrows. "Time to find out if we really are home."

Dean drew his gun. He had kept it with him the whole time in hopes that they would make it back. "I'll take point." Alex started to protest, but the look on Dean's face killed the words on her tongue. She just nodded and followed. If she was being honest with herself, Dean taking the lead was the right move. She had just almost died after all and was probably not in the best shape to be on the front lines. Too bad they weren't sure if they were out of the warzone yet.

They traveled a few hundred yards before they saw a light in the distance. As they drew closer, they could hear voices. There was a small tent with a light in the clearing.

"Don't remember seeing any of those in Purgatory," Alex whispered.

"Yeah," replied Dean. "Looks like they've got some supplies we need. There's no telling how far out we are, and it could be a while before we find the road."

Alex nodded. "I'll take care of the light," she said. "You grab the stuff."

They moved forward as quietly as they could. A few twigs snapped here and there alerting those in the tent to their presence before they could make a clean get away.

"Hello?" a young man called as he emerged from the tent. "Hello?" Dean and Alex froze behind him, weapons at the ready, as he pointed the flashlight into the darkness before him. "It was a deer." He made to turn back towards the tent. Alex moved to loosen her bow string when her shifting weight caused another twig to snap. The young man spun on his heels and brought the flashlight up to reveal the two blood-soaked and heavily armed hunters. "Oh!"

"Where are we?" Dean asked in a menacing tone.

"What?"

A young woman started to make her way out of the tent. The movement sent Alex into high alert. She raised her bow and pulled the string taught, ready to lose her arrow as Dean aimed his long since fired gun.

"Where's the road?" Dean repeated.

"Twelve miles, that way," he said with a point.

They kept their weapons trained on the couple as Dean grabbed the backpack from the ground. The second it was secure on his shoulder, the two hunters took off in the direction the young man had pointed.

* * *

Finding a phone was the first thing Alex wanted to do. She needed to talk to Sam. Dean had convinced her that getting cleaned up was probably a better idea. Nobody was going to let them use a phone looking like a pair of serial killers.

They found a stream to wash most of the blood off their faces before they found the road. There had been an extra shirt in the backpack they took. It didn't really fit Dean, but it was enough for him to be able to walk into the bar with the cash from the camper's wallet and hustle enough from the pool tables to get them some clothes and a room for the night.

The second Alex was through the door she went straight for the phone and started dialing Sam's number. The first number she called was out of service. She pulled the phone away from her ear and gave it an incredulous look.

Dean noticed. "What?"

"It's out of service," she said before turning to him.

"Well try another one."

The next three were much the same. She eventually just left him a message.

"Sam," her voice was tentative, "it… it's Alex. I really want to see you. Please call me back." She left the number of the motel phone and hung up.

Dean had watched her from across the room the entire time. Each number she called took a little more out of her. She shoulders slumped a little more. Her hand started to shake a bit as she dialed. He heard the hesitation in her voice and decided to step in. He took the receiver from her hand and nodded towards the bathroom.

"Go," he said. "Get cleaned up. I'll find Sammy."

She nodded her head silently as her steely mask fell back into place. She grabbed her new clothes and walked silently to the bathroom. Dean noticed that she took her blade with her. All that time in Purgatory had made her super paranoid. There was a time that she only would have taken a weapon with her when she was alone. Centuries of always being on guard made it so she couldn't really relax.

There was so much blood and gore on her clothes that she had to cut her pants off of her body. Some of the torn denim had actually become part of a wound on her thigh long since forgotten. She hissed a little as she ripped it off, taking small amounts of flesh with it.

She turned on the shower and slowly began washing the reminisce of her time alone from her body. The water felt like a small piece of Heaven as it cascaded down her heavily scared body. She dried herself of with the scratchy motel towel and put on her new clothes.

Grabbing her soiled clothing, she walked out into the main room to hear Dean leaving another message for Sam.

"No luck," she asked.

"Not yet," Dean replied. "We had to ditch a few numbers when the Leviathan were chasing us. We'll find him."

She nodded to him, a blank look on her face, as he stood and began to gather his things to take a shower of his own. Alex took a set on her bed and examined the bloody rags she had called clothes in her hands. It was impossible to tell which dark stains were her blood and which ones belonged to the monsters she had slain. They spoke of innumerable battles she had fought and the strength it took to face another day. As she examined them, the reality of it finally sank in.

Dean was just about to close the bathroom door when he heard Alex make a small strangled noise. He pushed open the door and saw her shoulders shaking as if she was sobbing.

"Alex?" He heard the sound again. He stepped out of the bathroom and moved towards her. "Alex, you okay?"

She tossed her head back and started laughing hysterically. Dean became even more worried. It would be perfectly understandable for the woman to shed a few tears after all they had been through, hell he came close himself. Instead she was doing one of the best impersonations of the Joker he had ever seen.

"What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. It's just…" She took a moment to compose herself before looking at the man who had fought by her side for so long. "It's over. It's really over. We made it out, Dean."

Smiles broke across both of their faces. "Yeah. We did." Alex rose to her feet and threw her arms around Dean's shoulders in a tight bear hug. It didn't matter that she had just gotten clean and he was still covered in filth. She was just glad they were finally free.

* * *

They left messages at every number Sam had ever used. Each time Sam didn't answer, the doubt in Alex's mind grew a bit more. _Maybe the reason he's not answering is because he's dead,_ she thought. It was the only reason she could come up with to explain why none of the numbers worked.

Bobby's cabin was only a day away by foot, and they still hadn't heard anything from the younger Winchester. It was on their last motel stop that Dan finally managed to reach his brother.

"Sam?" Dean said into the phone. "Yeah." Alex immediately perked up and moved closer, trying to hear both sides of the conversation. "Meet us at Bobby's cabin. We'll be waiting for you." Dean ended the call.

"Was that him?"

"Yeah," Dean gave Alex a little half smile. "You'll see him soon."

**So, Sam and Alex are finally going to see each other again. What are you hoping to see in their first encounter? Please review. Your feedback keeps me going.**


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: I'm sure you all noticed my poor attempt to make covers for these stories. I apologize for how sad they are. Poster making is not a skill I possess. For those of you that do have said skill and would like to make some cover art for me, please feel free to do so. I will find some way to reward you for your efforts._

_I would like to give a special thanks to Leah Tatyana Nicole and Princess de la Luna for reviewing the latest chapter. To those who have added this story and myself to your favorites and alerts, you are wonderful. Being in an auto accident delayed getting this chapter getting out to you, and for that I'm sorry. Hopefully the length will make up for it._

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 4_

"I'm going to go check the perimeter," Alex said as she grabbed her bow and headed for the cabin door.

"Sam should be here soon," said Dean.

"I won't be long." She placed the quiver on her back and walked out the door.

Shortly after they had arrived at the cabin, Alex had insisted on rigging the woods around the cabin in much the same way she had her caves in Purgatory. She knew that there was logically no reason to do it. Monsters weren't lurking in every shadow waiting to end her so called life anymore, but it made her feel safer. Dean had offered her his sawed-off the first time she went out seeing as all of her personal weapons had been at Bobby's when it had been destroyed, but she preferred the bow for it's stealth.

There were one or two exceptions to her weapons being favorite hunting knife, the one she always kept hidden in her boot, had joined Sam's arsenal. The last time Dean saw it her pistol was in the Impala's trunk. Sam had always said those were her two favorite weapons, and he wanted to return them to her as soon as he saw her. He was right of course, but Alex hadn't fired a gun in so long that she was starting to wonder if she even knew how anymore.

The bow was safe. It was quite and deadly. She did agree to take one of Dean's knives with her when she went out, just encase anything got in to close. After half an hour of examining traps and following tracks, she was satisfied that there was nothing out there and decided to return to the cabin.

Alex froze when the cabin came into sight. Her heart began racing at the sight of the shiny black Impala parked out front.

* * *

The Impala's engine rumbled to a stop as the car came to rest in front of the old cabin. Sam opened the driver's side door and paused to look up at the cabin as his mind began to wander.

When he had first gotten Dean's call he was elate. Just hearing his brother's voice again had been overwhelming. Now that he was so close to seeing him again after so long, he was almost terrified. There would come a time for him to tell Dean everything that had happened in the last year, and it wouldn't be easy.

He thought about Amelia. Things had been different between them since her husband had returned from the dead. Leaving right away would have been the right thing to do. They were married after all and deserved a chance to work things out, but Sam had been selfish and stayed until his brother had beckoned him away.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Sam had finally felt at peace. Nobody was out to kill him. There was no Apocalypse to stop. He was at peace. It was true that there were times when he thought about his missing brother and his long lost girlfriend. He missed them both terribly, but Dean had vanished without a trace. Alex was dead as far as he knew. Cas could not find her in Heaven, and Crowley swore she wasn't in Hell. He didn't actually think the demon could be trusted, but Death had also made it clear that she wasn't being tortured downstairs when he had gone after Sam's soul. It had taken him a long time, but he accepted the fact that she was gone and there would be no coming back this time.

Sam took a deep breath and walked to the door. He pushed it open slowly as he surveyed the inside. There was still a chance that this was some sort of trap. He took a few cautious steps inside until he was suddenly tackled to the ground. Looking up, he found his brother to be the assailant that was now bathing him in holy water.

"What the -?" he choked out. "I'm not a demon." Dean poured Borax on him. "Or a Leviathan. What –" he was cut short again by the feel of Dean's silver blade slicing into his arm.

"Or a shifter," said Dean. "Good." He removed himself from his younger brother and stood. He extended the bottles towards Sam. "My turn. Come on. Let's go."

Sam groaned slightly as he moved to his feet. "I don't need to. I know it's you."

"Damn it, Sammy," Dean growled in frustration before splashing himself with the two liquids. He held the knife out to his younger brother. "Come on."

"No! Dean can't I just say hello?"

If Sam wasn't going to test him, he'd do it himself. Dean rolled up his sleeve and cut his own arm with the knife. A small trickle of bright red blood appeared.

"All right," he said as he applied pressure to the wound with a bandanna. "Well," he looked to Sam, let's do this."

"I don't know whether to give you a hug or take a shower."

The men laughed for a moment before coming together in a brotherly hug. The last bit of tension Sam was holding in his body drained away. It was all real. Dean was really alive and standing right in front of him.

"Dude," Sam said as he backed away. "You're… freakin' alive." He took a few steps away from his brother and ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean, what the hell happened?"

"Well, I guess standing too close to exploding Dick sends your ass straight to Purgatory."

Sam's eyes grew wide. "You were in Purgatory?" Of all the things his brother could have said, this was the one that was farthest from his mind. He quite possibly would have been less surprised if Dean had told him Scotty had beamed him onto the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise. "For the whole year?"

Dean thought about telling Sam how long it had been for him, but he saw no point in tormenting his brother. "Yeah, time flies when you're running for your life."

"Well, how'd you get out?"

"I guess whoever build that box didn't want me there any more than I did."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm here, okay?" Dean didn't want to go into the specifics about what all he had been through to get home. It was bad enough that he had to relive it every time he closed his eyes. There was no point in causing Sam even more guilt over not being able to find him first.

"What about Cas?" Sam asked. When Dean told him that they would be waiting he assumed that Cas would be at the cabin with him. "Where is he?"

Dean turned his back to Sam as he fought to keep his composure. "Yeah, Cas didn't make it."

"What exactly does that mean?"

Dean tried to explain it to Sam without telling him exactly what happened. In his mind, he had lost his grip on the angel. How was he supposed to tell his little brother that he was the reason Cas was still trapped?

"So Cas is dead? You saw him die?"

"I saw enough."

"So, then what, you're not sure?"

Dean could since that his brother was winding up for a tirade and turned to face him. "I said I saw enough, Sam."

The tone in his brother's voice made it clear to Sam that Dean was not in the mood for the third degree. "Right, Dean. I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"Wait a minute," Sam said. "You said we?"

"What?"

"On the phone, when I talked to you. You said 'we'll be waiting.' Who did you bring back with you?"

The sound of the cabin door opening and closing behind him drew Sam's attention. He looked over his shoulder briefly before doing a double take. His eyes went wide. She was thinner than he remembered, but there was no mistaking who the woman dropping a bow by the door was. "Alex?"

"Hi, Sam."

Dean said nothing as he grabbed the testing supplies and moved towards her. He quickly splashed her with holy water and Borax. Her eyes never left Sam as she held out her arm to be cut. He watched her face twitch slightly as the blade sliced into her flesh.

A tear twinkled at the corner of her eye as she watched him rise to his feet. Once Dean was convinced of her identity, she lowered her arm and made a beeline for Sam. She flung her arms around his neck and held him tight.

Sam stumbled slightly as she collided with his body. He was so stunned that it took him a moment to react. He looked to his brother who gave him a little half smile and a small nod as if encouraging him to go ahead. Finally, Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against his body. He could scarcely believe it. It was like something out of a dream. She was alive. Alex was alive and he was holding her in his arms.

She loosened her arms slightly from around his neck and leaned back to get a better look at him. Holding his head in her hands, she examined him. Her eyes roamed over his face. There was still shock in his eyes when she looked at them. It made her chuckle slightly. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair.

"You're hair got long," she said. Sam laughed. "I like it." She looked into his eyes for a moment more before pulling him in for a kiss.

The moment her lips made contact with his he stiffened. Feeling his hesitation, she released his head and stepped back slightly. It hurt her to think that after so many nights dreaming of this moment that Sam would reject her, but the small smile he gave her assured her that everything was all right. _It's just a lot for him to process,_ she told herself. _He's still in shock is all. I should have been more considerate._

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No, it's alright."

Sensing the tension in the room, Dean decided to try and lighten things up a bit. "Look what I found in Purgatory."

Sam tried to speak, but he was so astounded that he ended up just opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally giving up.

"I can't believe your actually here," Alex said. "We tried to reach you for days, but most of your numbers are out of service."

"Yeah," Dean said. "Felt like I was leaving messages in the wind."

Dean moved to sit at the table, but Alex continued to stand as she watched Sam. It was taking every ounce of her strength to keep from touching him. Everything within her was crying out to hold him, but he wasn't ready for that.

"Yeah. I-I-I didn't get your messages."

"How come?"

"Probably because I ditched the phones."

"Why?" Alex asked worriedly as she gave in to her longing and place a hand on Sam's arm. "The Leviathan aren't after you again are they?"

"No, no nothing like that," he quickly replied. This was not how he had pictured this moment going. "I guess, um… I guess something happened to me this year, too." He gave a small shrug. "I don't hunt anymore."

Alex dropped her hand and stared at him in confusion as he gave them a tentative smile.

"Yeah," Dean said, clearly not believing his brother. "And Sasha Grey's gone legit." Sam let out a long sigh. "What?"

"Nothing. Um, she did a Sodenberge movie."

"What?"

"She did a Soderbergh – "

Dean cut him off. "No. You, Sam. You quit?"

"Yeah." He shuffled his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot as he fount for the right words to say. "Yeah, I – you were gone… Dean. Cas was gone. Bobby was dead." He looked at Alex. "There was no sign of you anywhere. Crowley even shipped off Kevin and Meg to parts unknown."

A pit began to form in the bottom of Alex's stomach as she listened to the two brothers talking about the family business.

"Nothing says 'family' quite like the whole family being dead," Sam said.

Dean's anger finally got the better of him. "We weren't dead." He stood and came toe to toe with his brother. "In fact, we were knee-deep in God's armpit killing monsters, which, I thought is what we actually do."

"Yeah, Dean. And far as I knew, what we do is the thing that got every single member of my family killed. I had no one – no one." Alex's gut twisted at his words. "And for the first time in my life, I was completely alone. And, honestly, I –I didn't exactly have a road map. So, yeah, I-I fixed up the Impala, and I just. .. drove."

Sam's words struck a chord within Alex. The whole time she had been fighting for her life and focusing on her own loneliness, she never once stopped to think about what Sam must have been feeling. They were soulmates right? If she felt his absence surely he felt her's just as keenly.

"Did you look for us, Sam?" Dean asked.

Alex answered for him. "Of course he looked for us. Right, Sam?" When he didn't answer right away she slowly turned her head to look at him. "Sam, did you look for us?"

Sam couldn't bring himself to look at her, so Alex placed a hand on his arm and forcibly turned him to look at her. She waited until he was looking her dead in the eye before she spoke again. "Did you look for me?"

He didn't speak. He didn't have to. The sad puppy dog eyes he gave her spoke more than his words ever could. She stepped away from him slightly as she struggled to come to grips with what he was saying. Alex's brows furrowed and then rose as it all sank in. _He didn't look for me._

Dean was a bit less silent. "That's good. Now, we – we. .. always told each other not to go looking. That's smart. Good for you." Sam moved his eyes from the hurting woman before him to his brother. "Of course, we always ignored that because of our deep, abiding love for each other, but not this time, right, Sammy?"

Sam struggled once again to find the words to say, but there were none. He just watched as his brother turned and walked out the cabin door, slamming it behind him. He continued staring at the closed door for a moment before turning back to Alex. The look of shock on her face was slowly melting into anger, and Sam knew he was in for it.

"So you didn't look for me," it was more a statement than a question.

Sam looked into her fiery eyes for a moment before looking at the ground and shaking his head. "No."

"Why not? I mean, I get not looking for me when the Leviathan were after your ass. Kind of hard to look for me if you're dead. I get that. But what about after that, Sam? Why didn't you look for me?"

"Alex, I…" there was nothing he could say to her to make things better, and he knew it. Anything he said would be a poor excuse. He expected her wrath. What he did not expect was the right hook she suddenly laid across his jaw when she decided that he wasn't answering her fast enough.

Sam rubbed his no doubt bruised jaw as he watched her storm after his brother.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going after Dean," she said as she gathered the weapons she left beside the door. "At least one of us should be looking for him."

She slammed the door in much the same manner as his brother. The sound made Sam jump slightly. The noise echoed the pain of the invisible blade being plunged into his heart at watching the two people he cared for most in this world walked away from him.

He stood there staring at the door for a moment more. "Welcome Back."

* * *

It had taken Dean and Alex a while to cool down after Sam's confession. Alex caught up to him and they just walked. Neither of them said a word. They didn't need to. They both knew what the other was thinking. Eventually they made their way back to the cabin.

"Where are your phones?" Dean asked Sam not long after they reentered. He pointed him to a box over on the shelf. "Alex can I borrow your earphones?"

"Yeah sure." She stopped her work in the kitchen and went to hand him the little blue earbuds.

"Thanks."

She nodded and walked back over to the kitchen area and resumed cooking.

Sam just watched the two of them work. It was easy to see that the two of them were still pretty pissed at him. He couldn't blame them. If the shoe were on the other foot, he would be pretty pissed too. He figured that the best course of action was to just let them cool off for a bit and try to repair the damage later.

Alex finished preparing the meal and started grabbing bowels and plates out of the cabinet. "Dinner's ready," she said.

Sam walked over to the kitchen and started fixing himself a plate. "Thanks," he said. Alex nodded to him before turning her attention to Dean.

"You want some dinner?"

"Pass," he said as he placed one of the earphones into his ear.

Alex just shrugged and set about fixing her own plate before joining Sam at the table. She had just begun to eat when she noticed Dean giving Sam a look that spoke of anger and disgust. It was so harsh that her blood ran cold and she paused with the fork halfway to her mouth. Sam, noticing her distraction, turned his eyes towards his brother.

"What?"

Dean didn't say a word as he removed the earbud from his ear and placed the phone on speaker. A message began to fill the room.

_Sam Winchester, it's Kevin Tran. Crowley had me in this warehouse, and I just escaped. I don't know where I am. And I don't know if he or – or any other demons are still after me. I need your help. Call me back. It's Kevin Tran._

The name sparked something in Alex's brain. "Kevin Tran? The prophet?"

"Yeah," said Sam. "When was that?"

Again, Dean gave no reply. He just played another message. The boy sounded more panicked than before. Sam stopped eating.

"Okay," he stood. "I get it. So, what, you two want to… strategize or something?"

Dean played yet another message. The voice that came through on the other end was slow and slurred.

"Is he… drunk?" Sam asked.

"He's totally wasted," Alex said. As she listened, the words became clearer. It hurt her heart to hear how the young prophet was living. By the time Dean played the second message telling Sam to eat him, she was every bit as pissed as the elder Winchester.

Once the final message had finished playing, Dean stood and squared up towards his younger brother. "He was out responsibility." He threw the phone into Sam's chest. The blow wasn't hard enough to leave a mark, but it got the point across. "And you couldn't answer the damn phone."

Sam looked at the phone in his hand. For the second time that day, Dean walked away from Sam before he did something he would regret. Sam's face fell. He turned his sad puppy dog eyes to Alex.

"Don't look at me," she said. "That kid needed your help and you just turned your back on him. The Sam I know would never have done that." Their eyes locked for the first time since she had walked out of the cabin to find Dean earlier that day. She searched his eyes for something anything that would help her understand what was going on in his head. She tried to look into his mind and found that she could see nothing beyond the sadness in his hazel eyes. Blinking rapidly, she sat back in her chair. The worried look that crossed her face startled Sam.

"Hey," he moved a fraction closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Alex, are you okay?"

She stood quickly, forcing him to drop his hand from her shoulder. Alex pushed the sudden panic she felt at not being able to use one of her most latent and basic powers aside. Her stony mask firmly back in place, she looked back up at Sam. "I'm not the one you should be worried about." The food on the table now forgotten, Alex walked over to the bags Sam had yet to put away. "You're laptop in here?" she asked without even looking up.

"Uh… yeah," Sam stammered. He was shocked when she ripped open his bag and started going through his things. "What are you doing?"

"Finding Kevin," she said as she pulled out the computer. "Hurry up and finish eating. We've got work to do."

* * *

It had taken them a while to find Kevin. Alex's computer skills were a little rusty. Progress was a little slow until Sam took over. Since they only had the one computer, Alex decided to try a little spell work to find him. A simple tracking spell should be fine. Not having something of his would make it a lot harder, but since she was able to find a picture of him, she should be able to use that as a focus to work the spell. She'd done it before.

The spell fizzled out before it had even really begun. She tried the spell a second time. When it once again did nothing, she groaned.

"Everything okay over there?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, just can't get a read on him."

Sam was a bit surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Guess the photo's not enough since I don't know him." The boys seemed to accept her answer, but deep down she knew that something was very very wrong.

Sam was eventually able to use the background noise in Kevin's last message to give them something to go on. Since it was so late, they decided to get some rest and head out first thing in the morning.

* * *

Dean and Alex got very little sleep, just as they had every night since their return. Closing their eyes brought on flashes of life or death battles the two of them had fought. More than that, they were so used to being on high alert that closing their eyes for more than a few minutes at a time felt wrong. They kept jerking awake suddenly throughout the night.

Once the sun finally rose, they all packed up their bags and prepared to set out in the Impala.

"Hey," Sam said as he finished loading the rest of their things into the trunk. Dean looked up just in time to catch the keys that had been tossed to him.

He looked over his most prized possession with a critical eye. "Well," he said, "no visible signs of douchery. I'll give you that."

Alex couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she climbed into the back seat. A very strong odor suddenly assaulted her nostrils. Dean's own nostrils flared as he took his position behind the wheel.

"Smell like dog to you?"

_That's it!_ Alex thought. "Yeah, I smell it too."

Sam inhaled. "In the car?

Dean gave his brother a disproving look. "You tell me." Sam just shrugged. "Hum" was all that Dean said after that before driving off.

* * *

A restless sleep managed to find Alex as the Impala pulled into the parking lot of the Palm Hotel. It was the most peaceful Sam had seen her since her return, and she still looked as if something was chasing her. He reached into the back seat and tried to wake her.

"Alex," he said. "Alex, wake up."

She jerked awake with a raging battle cry. Her breath was ragged as she assessed her surroundings. Sam's face slowly came into focus as the fog of sleep lifted. The now familiar smell of dog and the comforting feel of the Impala's leather seats helped anchor her to Earth.

"You okay?" Sam asked, worry evident in his voice. He watched her chest rise and fall rapidly as she began to calm down.

"Yeah," she said as she wiped the perspiration from her face with her hands. "I'm good."

As the trio retrieved their things from the trunk, two children ran by them firing pop guns. The popping sound caused both Dean and Alex to flinch as their guards came up as if they were preparing for a fight. Sam's brow furrowed as he observed them. The two quickly tried to cover their jumpiness, but he still saw it.

"I'm gunna go get cleaned up," said Alex shortly after entering the room. She placed her bag on one of the beds and started pulling out a change of clothes. She grabbed her gun and made sure it was loaded before tucking it into her waistband at the small of her back and disappearing into the bathroom.

Sam took notice of her unusual behavior. He prepared to ask his brother about it before noticing how tense and nervous he seemed. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah," Dean said as he ran a hand down his face. Okay was not the word best used to describe Dean at that moment, and he knew it. The thought of being still for more than a few minutes was driving him crazy. "Hey, what do you say we blow this joint, hit the road?"

"Now?"

"Yeah, Kevin's not getting any more found."

"The kid survived a year without us. He'll be okay for another twelve hours. Besides, when's the last time either you or Alex actually slept?"

Dean didn't want to talk about what was going through is mind. As for Alex, he could only guess what the female hunter was going through. Instead he chose to focus on the fact that his brother dropped the ball for a year. It was easier to focus on Sam's shortcomings than to deal with what was really going on inside his head. For the life of him, he could not understand why Sam would suddenly just stop.

"So what was it, hmmm? What could possibly make you stop just like that? A girl? Was there a girl?" Dean had only been half serious when he made that comment. It was meant as more of a joke than an actual question. Sam suddenly insisting that the girl had nothing to do with it caught him completely off guard. "There _was_ a girl?"

"Yeah," replied Sam. "There was. And then there wasn't. Anymore questions?"

"Is that why you didn't look for Alex? Because you were too busy screwing around with some random chick?"

"It wasn't like that Dean."

"Then what was it like, Sam?"

"I found something. Something I've… never had all my life."

There was no trickery in Sam's words or looks. He was being totally sincere. That was probably what made this even more difficult to comprehend. Alex had been everything to him and now he was saying that he just moved on. Something wasn't right.

"So what about Alex?" Dean asked as he nodded towards the closed bathroom door, thankful that she would not be able to hear them over the sound of the running water." What happens now?"

"I don't know." It pained Sam to confess that he wasn't sure where things stood with the woman that he had once been willing to take on Heaven and Hell to protect. He hadn't been looking to find anyone when he met Amelia. She had taken him completely by surprise. The way she stood up to him, challenged him, it had reminded him of Alex at first. Eventually that had faded away and she earned a place in his heart that was all her own.

* * *

Alex placed her change of clothes on the toilet seat and turned on the water. She was preparing to undress when she realize that she had forgotten to grab her hairbrush. She was just about to open the door and retrieve the object when she heard the boys talking through the door.

"So what was it, hmmm?" she heard Dean ask. "What could possibly make you stop just like that? A girl? Was there a girl?" She held her breath as she waited for the response that didn't come. Then Sam spoke and her breath left her in a startle gasp.

"Yeah there was. And then there wasn't. Any more questions?"

She heard the rest their words through a dense fog. Every word Sam spoke slowly cutting away at her soul.

"I found something. Something I've. .. never had all my life."

The words were a dagger to her heart. He had been the one thing keeping her going. Once she realized that he was still alive somewhere, all she could think about had been getting back to him. His not looking for her had been one thing, but this…this was more than she could bear. Sam had been her everything, and she apparently had not been able to give him what he really wanted.

Alex didn't listen to anymore after that. Hairbrush forgotten, she stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower's spray. The water was so hot it burned her skin, but Alex hardly noticed. As the water ran down her tired body, the floodgate of emotion she had kept closed for so long finally broke free and tears began streaming down her face. A tiny strangled sob escaped her throat. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand so that the boys wouldn't hear and sank to her knees in tears as the hot water washed them and the last of her hope away.

* * *

Sam wanted to think about anything but the woman he left in Texas and the one currently in the shower. He needed something to distract him. That's when he noticed Dean was silently rubbing his hands together, a nervous habit he had picked up on long ago.

"So what about you?" Sam asked.

"What about me?"

"Look at you." Sam indicated the nervous tick. "You've still got that look. Both of you do. Don't think I didn't notice Alex going into the bathroom with a gun? You're shaky. You're on edge." He paused for a moment and let out a sigh. "What was it like?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Sam really did want to understand what was going on with his brother and former flame. The only time he had ever seen either of them this keyed up was when they were in the middle of a hunt or one of them was in danger. He could only imagine what they must have been through in the last year.

"It was bloody," Dean began. "Messy. 31 flavors of bottom-dwelling nasties. Most days felt like 360-degree combat. Hell, I would have been dead within a minute if it hadn't been for Alex." Sam's eyes grew wide and he sat up a little straighter at this. Dean, seeing the change in posture from the corner of his eye, turned to his brother. He registered the look of surprise on his younger brother's face. "Yeah, you heard me. Alex saved my ass more times than I can count. She actually thought I was a ghost the first time she saw me." He gave a small chuckle. "I had to convince her that I was still alive, that we both were."

He watched his brother swallow what he could only assume was revulsion at hearing his words. Dean knew he should stop, but something inside of him told him to keep going. It was only a matter of time until Alex and Sam had a heart to heart about what had happened while she was away. When that happened, he wanted to make damn sure that Sammy knew what she was bringing to the table and just how badly all of this would inevitably hurt her.

"As soon as she realized that you were still out there, she started looking for a way out. Getting back to you was all she thought about. I saw her cut down a thousand monsters just to get back here. After all that she's been through, she comes back to find that she wasn't even a thought to you."

Sam's chest contracted as his brother's words took root in his heart. "That's not true."

"Oh isn't it?"

* * *

The three hunters stood rather awkwardly in the cramped dorm room. Kevin's former girlfriend, Channing, was the best lead they had for finding their missing prophet.

"The last time I saw Kevin was, like, a year ago," Channing said.

"When he disappeared?" asked Sam.

"Mm-hum. He stole his mother's car because he thought he was on a mission from God or something. It was crazy."

Channing's roommate was even less helpful than the girl they were there to see. Her random comments and constant jabber were getting on everyone's nerves. Alex was about three seconds away from having to walk out of the room or punch the co-ed in the face.

Sam did his best to keep them on track, but the track didn't get them anywhere. Channing insisted that Kevin had never been there. Even when Alex showed her the picture of him on campus, she was adamant that she hadn't seen him. When Sam pointed out that she may just be protecting him, she became less than happy.

"I hate Kevin," she said. "I wouldn't protect him."

This caught Dean's attention. "I thought you two had a thing."

"Yeah, when he was going to Princeton."

"Wow. Just like that?"

"Not everyone wants to stick around when things get rough. Right, Sam?" Alex quipped.

The younger Winchester's head snapped to the side, eyes wide, and just stared at Alex. There was a look of righteous indignation on her face that was so open to interpretation that he wasn't sure if she was pulling his chain or if she was just upset about him not searching for her. She quirked an eyebrow and turned her attention back to the girls.

"If you hear from him," she said as she handed Channing a card, "give us a call."

"Okay."

She turned to leave without giving either of the boys a look. Sam turned to his brother in hopes that he could give some sort of clue as to what was going on. Dean just shrugged and followed his friend out the door, leaving a bewildered Sam to follow behind.

* * *

Channing's roommate started prattling on about some Jewish boy she wanted to set her up with. When Channing turned to look at her, her eyes were black. She raised a small dagger in one hand and a rather terrifying bowl in the other.

"Shut up, bitch," she said.

The roommate was confused. "What?"

Channing quickly cut the girl's throat and filled the bowl with her blood. She recited an incantation and the blood began to boil as she made her demonic phone call.

"The Prophet still has not yet shown his face to me. But you should know Dean Winchester is back, and he has the Mayfair with him."

* * *

A sigh escaped Sam's lips as he loosened his tie. Finding Kevin was turning out to be a little more complicated than he thought it would be. He had definitely been on campus. There was security footage that proved that. The rest was a bit tricky.

"Don't judge me." Sam looked up as his brother. "I got bubkis." Dean took a seat opposite his brother.

"Same here," said Alex as she approached the table and took the final seat. "I've been showing that picture we found all over campus, but nobody seems to remember him. It's like the kid is a ghost or something."

"Well…" Sam was quickly interrupted by a waitress.

"And here you go," she said as she sat down a basket of food and one very large drink.

"Ah, thank you."

Sam pushed the plate towards his brother. Dean looked down at the bacon cheeseburger and fries in astonishment and adoration.

"Sweet mother of God. It's for me? Seriously?" Sam nodded.

Dean took a bite of the heart attack inducing sandwich. All of his muscles went limp as he close his eyes and chewed slowly, savoring the taste.

"Do we need to give you two a minute," Alex asked with a laugh.

Dean cut his eyes to her face. "Shut up," he said around the mouthful of cow causing Alex to laugh even harder only this time Sam joined in.

"Here," he said as he handed the giant cup to her.

She looked back and forth from the soft drink in front of her to his face. "Thanks…?" Alex said. Sam just nodded. Alex quickly grabbed the cup and slowly brought the straw to her lips. Taking a sip, a moan soon emitted from her throat. "God I could kiss you right now," she told him before taking another drink.

When a second moan sounded, Dean's eyebrows shot up his forehead as he looked at her. "Now who needs a minute alone?"

"Oh shut up, Dean. Dr Pepper is the nectar of the gods."

Dean opened his mouth to retort when Sam stopped him. "Okay, okay. We get it. You guys haven't had this in a long time and it's great. Moving on. I found the computer lab and the computer Kevin was working on."

"Nice," Alex chirped before taking another large gulp of her soda.

"Uh, thanks. Anyway, I found the website he was visiting, found his account user name, hacked into the website, found when else this username logged in, and then I reverse-tracked the IP address back to the original user, Kevin, who has apparently been using the same wireless router for the past two weeks."

"Good work," said Alex. "I'm impressed."

"I agree. That is spectacular work. Any chance I can get that in English?"

"Basically," said Alex, "Sam cyber stocked Kevin and found out where he is."

Dean nodded his approval before taking another bite of his burger. With his mouth still full, he picked up his food and said, "Let's hit the road."

* * *

The Impala came to a stop in front of an abandoned church outside of Fairfield, Iowa. The grass surrounding it had been left to run wild, hitting Alex at the knees in some areas. They had spoken to a few people around town upon arrival. Everyone that had seen Kevin pointed them in this direction.

Sam knocked on the door and called out to Kevin, but there was no answer. Dean set to picking the lock while Alex looked for another way in. It took Dean less than thirty seconds to force the old lock to give up it's prize.

"Hey," Dean stage whispered to Alex. Stopping at the corner of the building, she looked back and saw Dean beckoning her back over.

They quickly went through the door as silently as possible. They were unsure what they would find inside, but a prophet hosing them down with borax from a super soaker was not one of them.

"Stop! Stop!" Dean yelled. "Not Leviathans. It's us."

Kevin watched them for a moment, waiting to see if they had a reaction before slowly lowering the water gun. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

"Cliff notes?" replied Dean. "I went to Purgatory and met up with Alex." She gave a small waive. "Sam hit a dog."

"For real?"

"More or less," said Alex as she used the tail of her shirt to wipe the borax from her face.

"You want some towels?"

At the small closed mouth smile she gave him, Kevin went off to find them three small towels and gave them to the hunters. "So you're the witch?" Kevin asked as he handed Alex her hand towel.

"So you're the prophet?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're right. Sorry."

"It's okay. I've had a lot worse receptions than this. Trust me."

Kevin turned and started leading them through the building. Warding symbols and devils traps littered the floor beneath their feet. The last time Sam had seen the young prophet, he hadn't know squat about any of this. Now he seemed to know everything.

"Who taught you all this?" Sam asked.

"I guess… God."

Alex did a double take. "Come again?" Kevin turned and looked at them with a small smile. "God taught you all of this?"

"Technically, yeah."

"Wait, wait, hold on. Crowley kidnapped you. I saw that. But then you left a message saying you escaped. How?"

The boy paused for a moment before launching into his story. Crowley had in fact kidnaped him and took him to some sort of warehouse to try and force him to reveal the secrets of another tablet, only this time it was all about demons. It took less than five minutes for Kevin to realize what he was looking at. While the whole tablet may not make since, he was able to glen enough information from it to realize the power it possessed.

It contained everything you could ever want to know about demons. Kevin's eyes had instantly been drawn to a spell. He told Crowley that it was a way to open the gates of Hell.

Dean practically came unglued when Kevin told them.

"You showed the King of Hell how to open a Hell Gate? So that all the demons in Hell could come out all at the same time?"

"What? No."

While the prophet had in fact told Crowley that was what he was doing, he had actually been working a spell to destroy and demons in the immediate area. The moment the match hit the spell a light flashed forward and destroyed his wardens. Kevin was stunned for a moment before he grabbed the demon tablet and ran for his life.

"Not bad," Alex said, obviously impressed.

"Thanks."

"Wait," said Sam. "Where's the tablet now?"

"Safe"

"Safe where?"

Dean jumped in. "Hey. As long as it's safe, okay?" He turned his attention to Kevin. "Were you able to read anything else off the tablet before you stashed it?"

"Only the stuff about closing the gates of Hell. Forever."

All three hunters looked at him in shock.

"Come again?" asked Dean.

"Banish all demons off the face of the Earth, lock them away forever. That could be important, right?"

Alex gaffed. "I like this kid."

Kevin smiled at her before Dean got his attention by moving closer to him.

"Closing the gates of Hell forever?" Kevin gave a small nod. "Yeah. Yeah, that could be important."

After a few more minutes of discussion, Sam asked Dean and Alex to follow him outside. They exited the church. Sam walked to the railing and leaned on it heavily.

"Okay," Dean said as he came to stand beside his brother. "If this kid is right, he's sitting on a bombshell. Hell, he is a bombshell."

"Can you imagine it?" Alex asked excitedly. "A world without demons. Sounds amazing doesn't it?" Her excitement started to diminish when she saw Sam looking off into the distance. "Sam?" He just looked at his hands. Silence descended upon them as all eyes turned towards Sam.

"That… I mean, there's no way that Kevin's getting out of this intact is there?"

"Well," Dean said, "he's done pretty well for himself so far."

"Yeah, he got out." His sad puppy dog eyes pulled at Alex's heart when he finally looked at her. She didn't have to be able to see into his soul to know that he was mourning what he had recently lost. The little bit of normal he finally found was gone, and chances are he would never see it again.

"And now he's in it… whether he likes it or not."

"So… free will, that's only for you?"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. Sam, we have an opportunity to wipe the slate clean."

Dean was obviously getting rather annoyed with his little brother. For a moment, Alex even thought he was going to take a swing at him. She couldn't say that she entirely agreed with Sam, but she didn't want to watch Dean smash his face in either.

When Dean took another step towards his brother, Alex stepped forward and placed a hand on Dean's chest. She looked at her former lover. "Sam," she said, "I get that you don't like Kevin being a part of this. Really I do. I don't even know the kid and I wish that we could spare him from this, but think about all of the good we can do. If Kevin tells us the spell, we can get rid of every demon on the face of the Earth forever. You can have your revenge." Sam looked at her in confusion. "Those sons of bitches are the reason your life is the way it is. They destroyed you lives, killed your mother, killed Dean," she thought about leaving it there for a moment, but she had to see if he held any affection for her anymore. "Hell, they kept us apart for years. That means something to you right? Now tell me Sam, why wouldn't you want to end all that?"

Guilt swirled in the pit of Sam's stomach at her words. He should tell her about his life without her. He knew that, but if he did, she would never look at him the same way again. As he looked into her eyes, he wondered if she could see his secrets in them. There was something in her eyes that spoke of secrets untold that would change all of their lives. In his mind, he guessed that's what Purgatory would do to someone.

He tried to think of something to say to her, but his brain just kept swirling around the truths he was hiding from her. The look in her eyes was so intense that he had to look away. "I'll talk to Kevin," he said before turning and going into the church.

* * *

Sitting alone in the old sanctuary, lite by nothing but candles, was something Kevin was used to. This had been his home for a while now. There wasn't much to it, but he'd been safe here so far.

He heard the footsteps behind him, but he knew there was no reason to be afraid and just kept looking forward. Sam took a seat in the pew behind him.

"Kevin," he said. "I uh… I owe you an apology. Um… look, when you disappeared and Dean disappeared, I … need to clear my head, and… I'm thinking maybe you were one of the pieces that I should have been there to pick up."

He appreciated the words. It didn't change anything that he'd been through in the last year. Still, it was nice to know that the hunter felt bad about it. He just wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now.

"You've been a hunter since you were a kid, right?"

"Yeah mostly. Yeah."

"Ever since I realized I was a prophet… it's just hard to believe this is actually my life."

"Yeah. It sucks right now. I know that. Um. It might suck for a lot longer, but … trust me on this – it gets better."

Neither one of them really believed what he was saying. Sure there would be moments of happiness and relief, but things would never be "normal" again. The levity of it all made things difficult. Finding moments to laugh made it easier for Kevin. That's why he turned to face Sam and said, "You know I'm not gay, right?"

They both chuckled for a moment

"What about you?" Kevin asked. "Are you happier now that you have Alex back? Dean said she was like the love of your life or something."

Sam looked down at his clasped hands. He knew the answer he should give. he just wasn't sure if it was true. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah I am."

Kevin may not know the Winchesters all that well, but he could tell that Sam's lack luster answer was not exactly the truth.

* * *

Dean watched his brother walk back into the church without saying a word in answer to Alex's questions. This surprised him. He expected some sort of answer from him. Instead he just gave her his patented puppy-dog eyes and walked away. _That's odd,_ he thought.

Something else he found odd were the little comments Alex had made over the last few days. Little digs at his brother. It was like she was trying to get something out of him. Then there was the way she looked at him when she thought nobody was looking. It was a combination of sadness and anger that he couldn't quite understand. Sure she had punched him when she found out that he hadn't looked for her, but something told him that this went deeper than that.

Things were a bit strained between the two of them. Alex had expected Sam to welcome her with open arms, not tell her that he hadn't even been looking for her. Hell, Dean was pissed at him for that too, especially after learning why. He just wasn't sure what Alex knew or where she expected all of the cards to fall. From what she'd told him about Heaven, his brother was supposed to be her soulmate. He wasn't sure if he really believed in all of that. He just knew that once his brother would have done anything for this woman. Now he just saw his best friend was hurting, and there was nothing he could do about it.

When he turned away from the door, he saw Alex leaning heavily on the green railing along the porches edge. Her head was down and shoulders slumped. She looked completely defeated.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

She slowly looked up at him. What he saw nearly broke his heart. There were barely contained tears in her haunted eyes.

"Hey, you okay?"

Alex straightened up a bit before resting her hands on the railing and looking off into the distance.

"Why wasn't I enough, Dean?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Alex placed her hands on the railing and let out a deep sigh. "I want to know why I wasn't enough for Sam."

He was taken aback for a moment as his brain struggled to comprehend what she just asked him. All he could think to do was try and reassure her.

"Why would you ask that, Alex? I know things are a little weird with Sammy right now, but …"

"I heard you and Sam talking," she said. "The other night when I went to take a shower, I heard you."

Dean furrowed his brows as he looked at her in confusion and tried to play if off as if he didn't know anything, but Alex saw right through it. "What are you talking about? You read Sam's mind or something?"

"The girl, Dean. I heard you talking about the girl."

His eyes grew wide before his entire face became crestfallen. She looked at him with tears in her eyes once again as he ran a hand down his face to compose himself. All he could suddenly think about was kicking his brother's ass, and that wasn't going to help anybody.

"Alex, I…. I'm sor –"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry, Dean. You have nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Okay. So what about Sam?"

"What about him?"

"What happens now? You just going to dangle this over his head until he takes the bait or are you going to tell him you know and get on with your life."

Alex turned away. "It's not that easy, Dean." He waited for her to continue. "Part of me doesn't blame him for moving on, but the rest of me wants to know why we can't pick up where we left off. Deep down I knew it wouldn't be exactly the same. A lot happened while I was gone. I get that. I just can't help but wonder."

"Wonder what?"

"If he still wishes he was with her." A single tear escaped Alex' left eye. She wiped it away angrily. "He did say that she'd given him something he'd never had before." She had promised herself that she wouldn't shed anymore tears over this. She did enough crying in the shower that night, but somehow her emotions didn't get the memo. "I should be happy right? I mean, he's here now. I just don't know what that means."

Dean wished he could set her mind at ease, but there was nothing he could say that would make this better for her. The only thing that kept her going in the end was her desire to get back to Sam. Now she was faced with the fact that her hope may have been misplaced.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I want to just look past it and try to move on. It's just…"she stopped and she struggled to find the words to express what she was feeling at that very moment. Dean waited patiently for her to continue. "He's here right? He isn't running back to her. I should be happy. He's here. He's alive, and we can work on rebuilding what we had. It's just… I just don't know that given the choice he would choose me anymore."

Dean, not knowing what else to do at that moment, opened his arms and pulled Alex into a tight embrace. He did all he could to give her some sort of physical comfort. This just wasn't really his area of expertise.

Alex welcomed the attempt at making her feel better. She knew that this wasn't really Dean's thing. Chick flick moments, as he called them, always made him a bit uncomfortable. That made the hug all the more meaningful to her.

"Thanks," she said as she pulled away. "I need that."

"No problem." The exchange brief smiles. "Now what do you say we go wipe those black-eye sons of bitches of the face of the Earth."

Alex nodded. They turned and walked into the church to find Sam and Kevin sitting in the candle lite sanctuary. As they entered the room, the whole building seemed to shake. An earthquake was their first thought until they saw the floor boards breaking in a rather particular manner, destroying the devil's traps keeping them safe.

"We got company," Dean said as he moved to the duffle full of weapons on the floor and pulled out the demon knife. "Sam." He handed the blade to his brother.

"Kevin," Sam said, "I want you to stay behind us alright?"

The prophet nodded. Sam turned to prepare to fight when he noticed his brother handing a rather odd looking weapon to his former girlfriend before pulling out another for himself.

"What the hell is that?"

"Purgatory," Alex deadpanned, her eyes trained on the door in front of her.

They held their breath in anticipation as they waited for the demons to arrive. Suddenly, the door flew open and two demons entered the room. Dean and Alex stepped forward and blocked their path towards Kevin while Sam stayed close to the prophet in case more came in through the back.

"Dean Winchester," one of the demons said as he took notice of the hunter. "Back from Purgatory."

"Spanky the demon. Yeah, I heard about you. You're the one who uses too much teeth, right?"

The demon smirked before turning his eyes towards Alex. "And if it isn't Alexandra Mayfair, the former queen of Hell. I know someone that is dying to talk to you."

"Sorry, don't really feel much like talking at the moment."

Alex summoned all her will and focused on creating a circle of light around the demons. Nothing happened. She blinked repeatedly and tried again. When nothing happened for the second time, her fear was confirmed. Her magic was gone.

The demons suddenly rushed them. Sam watched in awe as his brother and Alex worked in perfect unison to dispatch the demons. They didn't speak at all. They just knew what to do. It almost looked like a dance the two of them had been practicing for years. That thought caught Sam off guard and made him wonder. _How long were they really down there?_

Dean and Alex killed the demons in no time. The hunters were getting ready to grab Kevin and run when an all too familiar voice greeted them.

"Hello, boys and girl."

They slowly turned to find Crowley entering the room, Kevin's girlfriend Channing at his side.

"Dean, You're looking…well, let's just say Purgatory didn't do you any favors. Now you on the other hand," he said as he turned his attention to Alex, "you look better than ever." Alex clinched her jaw and tightened the grip on her weapon. "Moose. Still with the pork chops. I admire that."

Kevin was overjoyed to see his girlfriend again. All he wanted to do was grab her and go, but the others stopped him. The girl in front of him was not his Channing. She was possessed by a demon in Crowley's command. The king of Hell let the poor girl to the surface for a moment, but a moment was all he gave her. That moment made Kevin want to save her at any cost. He agreed to trade himself for the girl.

"Not gunna happen, Kevin," said Alex.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" He knew he was being a smartass by saying it, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "I'll grab my stuff."

They watched him walk out of the room. The hunters wanted to grab him, throw him in the trunk, and take off, but they knew that wouldn't solve anything. Crowley would just hunt them down again and again until he finally got Kevin where he wanted him.

"It really is good to see you again, Alexandra."

"Go to Hell."

"Ah, already have. If memory serves, so have you."

Alex just glared at him. Sam could feel the hatred coming off of her in waves. He half expected to hear thunder in the distance, but instead his mind focused on the implication of Crowley's words. _Alex was in Hell! I thought she was in Purgatory._ Sam's mind began to spin as he worked to come up with some sort of explanation. He would have remembered her being there right? If she'd been in Hell, she would have been there with him. Surely he'd remember that. But there was nothing. All he could remember of Hell was the pain and fear that overwhelmed him for so long.

"Yeah," Alex said. "Didn't care for it much."

"Oh but that's just because you were on the wrong side of the fence. How's about you come back with me? Only this time you'll be sitting on the throne next to mine."

"I'll pass thanks."

Crowley just gave her a cocky smile before calling for Kevin to hurry up. As he moved forward, a cascade of holy water suddenly fell on him. He cried in anger as steam rose from his body.

"Sam, Dean, Alex, run!" they heard Kevin yell.

The hunters didn't need to be told twice as the turned and sprinted form the room. They burst through the doors and made a mad dash of the Impala. Kevin crawled through a window and met them halfway there. Piling into the car, Dean stepped on the gas and started getting them the hell out of there.

As they passed the church, Crowley emerged with Channing at his side. The world seemed to slow to a crawl for Kevin as he watched black smoke pour from her mouth. The girl obviously looked confused by her surroundings until Crowley snapped his fingers. Her neck snapped violently to the side before she fell to the ground, dead.

Alex had to grab hold of Kevin's shoulder to keep him in the car as he screamed his girlfriend's name.

* * *

"All right," Dean said as he pulled the impala to a stop at a small gas station, "anybody want anything?"

"I'm good," Sam said.

"Me too," said Alex.

When Kevin didn't respond, Dean turned to look at him. The young prophet was just staring ahead as if none of them were there. A look was shared between the three hunters as they tried to think of what to say, but nobody had the words.

"Kevin?" Sam cautiously asked. "How you holding up?"

"Awesome," Kevin said. "The king of Hell just snapped my girlfriend's neck. How about you?"

Ever since they left the church, Alex had been trying to figure out what to say to Kevin to make him feel better about Channing. She knew that there was nothing to be said. She just wanted to make him feel better. Watching Sam die all those years ago had been one of the most horrific things she ever experienced. Nothing has ever been able to get the image of his cold lifeless body out of her head, and now she knows Kevin would have to carry the same burden.

Of course Dean on the other hand had about as much subtlety as his favorite shotgun.

"All right, listen to me. I'm sorry about your girlfriend, okay? I am. But the sooner you get this, the better. You're in it now, whether you like it or not. That means you do what you got to do. I'm hitting the head."

_I want to hit you in the head,_ Alex thought as she rolled her eyes at the elder Winchester. She turned her eyes to Sam and saw the look of pity on his face. "Sam," she said. "I'm actually really thirsty. Do you think you could get me a bottle of water or something?"

Sam got the hint right away. "Yeah sure. I'll be right back."

She waited until Sam was out of earshot before she spoke, looking straight ahead the whole time instead of at the prophet beside her. "I'm not going to try and make you feel better, Kevin. I know nothing can do that."

"Gee thanks," he said sarcastically.

"I know how it feels to watch someone you love die. After I watched Sam die, I didn't speak for weeks." This got Kevin's attention.

"You mean when you fell into the pit together right?"

"No," she said. "This was a few years before that."

Kevin turned to her. "Sam died?"

Alex shifted her eyes to his. "Yeah. Dean too. Actually," she chuckled slightly. "We all have at some point." Kevin looked shocked. "That's not important now. What is important is that, the life we live, it's not easy. The people that we love… they will always be in danger even when we try to keep them safe. That's the life. It's hard, but a lot of good comes out of it. If we don't stand up to the evil sons a bitches out there, who will? The question you have to ask yourself is if the risk is worth it. If it is, then cherish what you have when you have it because it could be gone tomorrow. Otherwise, it's probably best to just bite the proverbial bullet now and go with Crowley and his demons because aren't ever going to let you go."

Her words were harsh, but they made since to Kevin. It was clear now that there was no easy way out, and if what she said about all of them having died at some point was true, well, getting out might be a lot harder than he thought.

Kevin nodded. Everything that she was saying hit home. He hadn't seen Channing in a year, but Crowley had still used her to get to him. That is what made it so hard. He no longer had a real connection to her, but it didn't matter. He was starting to realize that he may very well spend the rest of his life alone. Then he thought about the stories Dean had told him about her and Sam. Maybe there was hope yet.

"Well at least you still have Sam, right?"

He knew it was a loaded question even before he asked it. There was something off about her and Sam's relationship. That much he knew from talking to Sam earlier. He just didn't know exactly what it was that was gnawing at them. They were supposed to be some sort of epic power couple. He just didn't see it at the moment.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I guess you could say that." When Kevin didn't say anything she continued. "Dean told you that we were in Purgatory right?" Kevin nodded. "Did he tell you how long?"

"No."

"Dean was there for about a hundred years. I was there for more than three." Kevin's eyes grew wide. "I went from sharing a Heaven with Sam, to following him into Hell, and ultimately ended up in a warzone by myself thinking he was looking for me. It was nothing but violence and bloodshed. Every day I fought tooth and nail to stay alive knowing that I'd have to do it again the next. In all that time, the only thing that ever really made me want to keep going was the thought that I would one day make it home to Sam. I just knew that he was looking for me with as much determination as I had fighting to get back to him. Well, I finally made it out. Problem was, he didn't look for me. In fact, he moved on to somebody else while I was gone. The only reason I know this is because I overheard him talking to Dean about it. Sam has no idea that I know. He just thinks I mad because he didn't look for me."

"Wow."

Alex chuckled. She didn't even realize that she had begun to cry until a tear landed on her denim clad leg. She wiped them away angrily before continuing.

"The point to me telling you all this is so that you'll understand just how uncertain everything in this life is. You can't take anything for granted. He was supposed to be my soulmate, but look at us now. I know you are going to blame yourself for what happened to Channing. Just don't let it destroy the memory of your time with her okay. That memory may be the only thing you get to have."

Kevin nodded. "Okay."

"And if you breathe a word of this to Sam I will beat the living shit out of you. Understand?"

They both chuckled. She was serious and Kevin knew that, but in the same token, Alex knew that she would eventually have to tell Sam herself. She just didn't know if she would ever be ready.

**Thanks for reading. So I want to hear what you think. Leave a review and tell me how the first meeting between Sam and Alex went, and how Alex should handle everything moving forward. When should she tell him she knows? Reviews are love. They keep me motivated.**


	6. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: I would like to give a special thanks to Princess de la Luna for your latest review. _

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 5_

Alex rubbed her temples as she listened to the argument between Kevin and Dean for what had to be the hundredth time in the past two days. All the prophet wanted to do was swing by and see that his mother was okay with his own eyes. If looking would have been enough she would have been on board, but she and the Winchesters knew that just seeing is mom wouldn't be enough. Kevin would want to talk to her. That was where the problem was.

It was clear to see just how frustrate Dean was getting. His replies were becoming short and choppy. This in turn was making Kevin get louder and louder. Alex looked across the table to Sam for some help. He just gave her a look that clearly said 'What do you want me to do?'

"Guys," she said once she had finally had enough, "stop it." Both men fell silent at her unexpected outburst. "Kevin I know you're concerned about your mom okay? I would be too, but you've got to understand. Crowley is going to have demons all over that place just waiting for you to show up. The minute you show your face he is going to be all over you like white on rice, and there is no guarantee that we'll be able to stop him this time. The best thing to do is to go get the tablet and lock those gates up forever. Once we do that I will personally take you to see her myself okay?"

"I get that we're in a hurry."

"Okay, well, then, what's the problem?" Dean asked as he continued to eat his burger.

"Channing's broken neck is my problem!" He banged his hand on the table for emphasis as he began to move to his feet, and people began to stare. Sam put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Kevin sat back down. "I'd rather not see my mom twisted into a corkscrew."

"Kid's got a point guys," said Sam.

"Stay out of this!" "It's in the completely opposite direction!" Dean and Alex said in unison.

"Kevin, you mom is fine," Dead said flatly.

"How can you possibly know that?"

"What if I just go check in on her?" suggested Alex. "I'll grab a bike, pop on over to check on her, and then report back to you. How does that sound?"

"No, that's not good enough. I need to see her for myself." Alex's head came to rest on her folded arms as she worked to contain her frustration. "Guys, my mom's all alone. She's surrounded by demons. Can you really not understand why I want to make sure she's okay?"

The thought of Bobby being stranded on his own suddenly entered Alex's mind. He was a damned good hunter, one of the best she'd ever know, but if she knew that he was facing the kind of odds Mrs. Tran was more than likely up against she'd be on the road already. Slowly, she raised her head and looked at Dean. The elder Winchester paused in his eating to watch her. The look on her face screamed that she got what the kid was saying. Looking to his brother, he knew he was going to get the same thing and did.

"Son of a bitch," Dean said as he put down his precious bacon cheeseburger and threw his hands up in the air. " Fine. Let's go."

"Michigan it is then," Alex said. "I'll just go get us some dogie bags and meet you guys at the car."

She was a little surprised when Sam offered to help her carry the food. The two of them hadn't had a lot of time to talk in the last few days. She had roomed with Kevin while he was always in the adjoining room with his brother. Tensions were still pretty high between them, and Sam was clueless as to why.

As they packed up the food, Sam struggled to come up with a way to breech the topic. He kept pausing as if to speak just to return to his work a moment later.

"Spit it out, Sam." Alex could tell he wanted to say something, and the more he kept stopping himself the more frustrated she became.

"Why do you always take Dean's side?" The minute the words were out of his mouth he knew that he had asked the wrong question.

She stopped what she was doing and looked him square in the eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean – look, it seems like you are purposely trying to shut me out and I don't know why."

Alex sighed and looked down. She knew he was right. If she was going to be pissed at him, she should tell him why. Pride was what was keeping her from confessing to Sam that she knew how he'd spent the last year of his life. She wanted him to want to tell her because she still meant something to him. That was not going to change.

"I'm sorry, Sam. Really I don't mean to shut you out, not really. It's just – I just don't know where anything stands anymore and that's hard for me to process. Dean and I spent a lot of time together in Purgatory. I trust his instincts. That doesn't mean that I trust you any less. I'm just still trying to get used to being top side again ya know?"

Sam nodded. She hopped that he really did understand. The things she said were mostly true. She was still adjusting to what the world was like now. She did trust Dean when it came to choosing a battle. She wanted to let Sam in all the way again. She just didn't know if it was safe to trust him with the heart he didn't even know he had broken.

Everything in the little suburban neighborhood was picture perfect. Luckily for them there was enough greenery in the center of the round to keep them relatively hidden while they checked in on Kevin's mother. A gardener was tending to the landscaping outside of the blue house she lived in. Sam watched through binoculars in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the woman in question.

"Tiger mom, 9 o'clock," he said.

Kevin quickly grabbed the binoculars so that he could see for himself. While he looked for his mother, Alex and Dean were observing everyone else in the neighborhood. None of them were acting the way they should. They kept repeating the same things over and over again around the Tran house while looking around. To the casual observer they would have just been enjoying the beautiful weather while going about their day, but to a trained hunter who knew the score, it meant only one thing. They were demons.

Dean said as much to the others. He pointed out their unusual behavior. As he did something dawned on Alex, she couldn't see their faces. Before her little field trip to the infernal regions of existence, she had been able to see their true faces. That's how she always knew who was a demon and who wasn't. _How did I not notice this before?_ She thought back to the demons that attacked them at the church. The same was true for them. No demon faces.

Sam noticed the slightly distressed look on her face. "Hey, Alex. You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head to clear her mind. "Just thinking."

"What's on your mind?" asked Dean.

Not wanting to alarm the boys, she came up with a cover. "They are all going to know what we look like right? They'll be on the lookout. Our best chance at getting past them is to take them out, but to do that we need to catch them off guard." She went on to explain her plan to the boys.

"No," Sam said. "We are not using you as bait."

"I'm the fastest runner, Sam. It makes more sense for me to do this."

After a moment he nodded his consent. She had a point. Dean reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the demon knife. He presented the handle to Alex.

"You take care of yourself ya hear?" he said.

"Always do." She gave them all a little smile before she began to walk towards the house while the boys got ready to take their places.

* * *

The gardener was the one to take notice of her. His eyes instantly went black when he realized who she was. Alex kept her hands behind her back as she approached so as not to show him the knife.

"Hey I was wondering if you could help me," she said.

"The king wants to see you."

She shrugged. "Guess not." Before he even knew what was happening, Alex had plunged the magical blade deep into his solar plexus. He gave a strangled scream before falling to his knees. Alex looked up to see the mailman turning in her direction and took off running.

The demon followed close on her heals. She burst through the gate at the side of the house, tossing the knife to a waiting Dean hidden in the shadows on the other side before running into the arms of a waiting Sam.

When the demon came in behind her, all he saw was Sam Winchester holding what appeared to be a frightened former queen of Hell. He gave them both a wicked smile. Delivering the Mayfair and Lucifer's vessel to the king would definitely earn him some brownie points. He was so focused on the two in front of him that he didn't notice Dean coming up behind him until it was too late.

With the outside guard dogs dispatched, Alex moved to the bushes and told Kevin it was safe to come out. The young prophet dusted himself off and straightened his clothes as best he could. He wanted to look his best when he finally saw his mother again. He looked at Alex for approval.

"You look great Kev. Now come on. Let's go."

He lead the way to the front door. The hunters took their positions on either side of the door just as he rang the doorbell. They waited for a moment. When the door finally opened, a huge smile appeared on Kevin's face.

"Hi, Mom."

The woman's hands flew to her face as she struggled to speak through the tears of joy quickly forming in her eyes. "Oh! Kev – Kevin!" She moved to embrace him but stopped short when the hunters threw holy water, borax, and silver dust on her to make sure she was in fact human. Satisfied that she had passed the test, they allowed Kevin to move forward and finally embrace his mother.

A small smile formed on Alex's face as she watched the happy reunion. It was what she had hopped her first moments with Sam would have been like. Now she was just struggling to keep from being angry with him all the time.

Mrs, Tran stepped back to allow them to enter. That's when the smell reached Alex's nostrils.

"Sulfur."

The hunters raced through the house to the kitchen and found black smoke pouring from a woman's mouth. Alex tried again to summon a trap, but it was no use. Sam began chanting. As he did, the smoke began flowing backwards into the woman's mouth. Dean stepped forward as soon as all of the smoke had receded back into her mouth and plunged the knife into her chest.

"Eunis!" yelled Mrs. Tran.

Alex turned to her. "I'm sorry Mrs, Tran, but that's not Eunice."

* * *

The sitting room chairs were some of the most comfortable the boys had ever sat in. They sat across the coffee table from Kevin and his mother. Alex remained standing near the window. She listened to the conversation while keeping an eye out for anymore black-eyed visitors.

Mrs. Tran seemed to be taking everything the boys were telling her in stride, but it was hard to tell. She hadn't spoken a word since they sat down. In fact, she gave so little indication as to what she was thinking, Kevin thought she didn't completely understand what her friend being possessed by a demon meant.

"Have you seen _The Exorcist_?" he asked.

Mrs. Tran rolled her eyes before looking at her son. "Is that what you've been doing all year – watching television?" Alex had to suppress a chuckle. "Did you really have to kill her?"

Dean was the one to offer her an answer. "The demon would have warned Crowley where Kevin was if we didn't."

"And Crowley is the one who kidnapped you?"

"Yeah," Kevin said. "He needs me to translate his stupid tablet so he can take over the universe or something."

"Which is why we need to get it so that we can slam the gates of Hell forever with Crowley inside," said Dean.

Sam was quick to back him. "So that things like that don't ever happen again."

She seemed to think about what they said for a minute. She gave a slight nod of her head and turned to her son. "Prophet of the Lord, huh? It does have a nice ring to it." Kevin smiled. "I'll get packed."

Everyone stood and Alex moved to join the boys. They all agreed that a safe house was the best place to keep them. This did not seem to make Mrs. Tran very happy.

"Safe house? I thought we were going to get the tablet?"

"Uh, we are," said Dean. "You're taking a trip to a demon-free zone."

"And risk letting Kevin fall into the hands of Crowley again? I don't think so."

"And that's why Alex here is going to be your personal body guard."

"Excuse me!" Alex exclaimed. "There is no way I'm setting this one out, Dean. Not a chance."

Sam placed a hand on the woman's shoulder in an attempt to keep her calm. "Dean's got a point Alex. You've got something over on demons that none of the rest of us do. You can do a better job protecting them than either of us can."

Alex didn't like to admit it, but Sam had a point. Even if her powers were a bit shaky as of late, she still carried the Mayfair mantel. The demons at the church had only gone for Dean. She had merely stepped in and sped up the fight. She gave a reluctant head nod and looked at her new charges.

"I won't let anything happen to either of you. I promise."

"Look," Mrs. Tran said, "I really appreciate that. I do. I'm sure that you are more than capable, but there is no way I am going to just sit around with my son and wait for this Crowley to show up."

"Crowley is the king of Hell. He's a real slimy bastard. He'll take your soul downstairs in a heartbeat if you let him. It's best if you let us handle this."

"I understand, but it's not my soul I'm worried about. It's my son's."

She folded her arms across her chest in an act of defiance. Alex gave her a small smile and nodded. If the shoe were on the other foot, she would be doing the same thing. Mrs. Tran had guts. Alex could respect that.

Dean, on the other hand, did not seem so inclined. "Kevin, you want to back us up here?" When the prophet said noting, the elder Winchester gave him a hard stare. "Came all the way down here to pull her out of the fire, and now she wants to jump right back in."

"Like I can tell her what to do?" Kevin said.

"Alex a little help here."

"Give it up, Dean," she said. "I know that look. She's coming with us. Besides, have you ever been able to make me do something I didn't want to?"

Dean studied the woman next to him for a moment. She had a little half smile on her face that told him just how amusing she found this whole situation to be. He knew arguing with her was pointless. If she said Mrs. Tran was going, she was going. An idea suddenly came to him. He gave a small chuckle and shrugged as he turned back to the prophet and his mother. "All right," he said. "Coming with us has conditions. Uh, hex bags to stay off the bad guys radar. Alex think you can work us up a few?"

"Yeah," she said. "I think I can manage that."

Dean prepared to play his trump card. "And, you're gunna have to get inked up."

Kevin looked absolutely mortified. "Do what now?"

"Yeah, uh…" Sam pulled the collar of his shirt down enough to reveal the anti-possession tattoo on his chest. "You, too, shortstop. Keeps the demons out."

Alex's mouth went dry when she saw Sam pull his shirt aside. She may not have been able to see much, but it was enough to allow her to see the outline of one of the hard muscles on his chest. Her mind instantly filled with images, memories of the last time the two of them had been together. Lifetimes had passed, but she could still remember what that chest felt like under her hands as he moved inside of her. She shook her head and blinked rapidly to clear her head. Thinking about Sam's body was not going to help them out in the current situation.

"Fine," she heard Mrs. Tran say.

"Really?" Dean asked.

"What, like it's my first tattoo?"

She turned on her heel and strode purposefully out of the room. Kevin just stared after his mother in complete shock before turning to look at the three hunters. Each had a smile of admiration on their faces, but when Alex saw the look of near horror on Kevin's face she laughed.

"Lighten up, Kev. She wasn't always a mom you know."

* * *

Making sure that the station was secure was number one on the hunters' priority list. Alex stayed with The Trans while the boys surveyed the area. Once the boys were satisfied that the coast was clear, they returned to the others.

Kevin led them to the locker and handed the key to Dean. "All right," he said. "Positive thoughts." He opened the locker and looked inside. Sam's head moved back slightly in confusion. When he looked back at Alex.

"What is is?" she asked as she stepped forward.

Dean pulled out a diaper bag and gave an unbelieving look to the prophet. "You hid the Word of God in a diaper bag?"

"No."

The hunter's all looked at each other in alarm at the confession. Dean ripped the bag open and started frantically looking through it. Nothing but diapers and rash cream greeted him. With a cry of "son of a bitch," Dean threw the bag back in the locker and slammed the door.

Everyone in the station stopped to look at them. Alex quickly realized that they had to do something and fast if they were going to avoid a scene. "Follow my lead," she told them before bursting into fake tears. The boys froze. Dean was actually so taken aback by her display that for a moment he though he was the one who made her cry and tried to apologize for yelling.

Sam recovered far more quickly than his brother. He wasn't exactly sure what she had planned, but he pulled her into his arms in what he hopped was a believable sign of comfort. Mrs. Tran also picked up on Alex's intentions and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What seems to be the problem here?" asked a security guard.

"It… it's gone!" whaled Alex.

The guard drew back slightly, clearly uncomfortable.

"The urn."

"Urn?"

"I had my mother's ashes in that locker. She," Alex paused and tried to make it look like she was composing herself, "she wa- wanted us all to be together to spread her ashes. My boyfriend and I were in the process of moving out her to be able to help his brother start a business, so we didn't have a place to live. I decided to keep it here until my Aunt Linda and my little cousin could be her to help me spread her ashes. And… and now they're gone." She burst out into another loud wail of fake grief and threw her face into Sam's chest in an attempt to sell her story.

The guard looked between Alex and Mrs. Tran. He was not convince. "She's your niece?" he asked Mrs. Tran.

"She's adopted," Mrs. Tran replied ans she stepped closer to Alex in a show of comfort. "My sister couldn't have children. She always said that the day she signed the adoption papers was the day all her prayers were answered." Alex let out another cry for emphasis.

The guard started to become visibly uncomfortable as more and more people stopped to watch the display.

"Don't… don't cry lady," he pleaded. "Look, we've been having nothing but trouble with these lockers. Got broke into damn near every day for a while. Could never figure out who it was till yesterday."

"Oh, so you know who did it?" Sam asked.

"Sure. Was Clem Smedley, a guy who worked the desk before me. Between you and me they guys a real sleazeball."

Alex made a show a wiping her eyes as she let go of Sam ever so slightly to face the guard. "Is… is he down at County? I'd want to ask him where my mom is. I'm not mad at him. I just…. I just want her back," she said with a sniff.

"I shouldn't be telling you any of this, but I know what it's like to be adopted. Makes your parents even more important." Alex gave a little smile and nodded.

The guard told them everything they wanted to know about the culprit and where to find him. Satisfied that they knew all they needed to, they group left the station. Alex clung to Sam the entire way as not to blow their cover. Once they were outside and she was convinced it was safe, she detached herself from Sam's side and strode purposefully towards the Impala.

"What was that?" Dean asked.

"It's called improvising," said Alex. "Your little outburst was drawing too much attention, so I had to come up with something."

"You got to admit Dean," Sam said, "that was pretty good."

"Good?" asked Kevin. "It was awesome! Were you like an actor in another life or something?"

The boys visibly stiffened for a moment as memories of another time filled their heads. Quickly shaking it off, they all decided to head down to the jail and see what their little thief had to say.

* * *

Dressed in their fake FBI best, Alex and the boys strode into the county jail. It only took one look at the suits and the fake badges for the local authorities to let them in to see Clem. What was probably even less surprising that the locals cooperation, was the thief's unwillingness to talk to them.

The hunters quickly fell into their old routine. Dean would stand back and be intimidating while Sam would the logical businessman, and Alex provided the compassionate listener. Ten minutes of the usual dog and pony show had Alex becoming the straight forward one and Sam showing a little sympathy for the inmate.

Sam was used to playing that part when hunting with Dean. He was a little surprised at how quickly Alex seemed to bristle, but even he had his moment when he heard Clem's response to him asking where the tablet was.

"Can I even acknowledge that without my lawyer here?"

Alex rolled her eyes and looked over to Dean. She watched as the older Winchester began unloosening his tie. He locked eyes with her for a moment before flicking them back to Clem. She knew instantly what he was thinking. While she had to agree that it was not the smartest way to go, time was of the essence. They couldn't just sit around and wait for the guy to break. He needed a good shove.

"Uh, look," Sam said, completely unaware of the silent conversation between his companions., "I'm sure we can work out a little, uh, something-something with the locals if you just cooperate."

That was exactly what the man wanted to hear. "What kind of…" his question was cut off by Dean's tie as it was wrapped around his throat.

"Dean!" Sam yelled as he watched his brother drag the man to the wall. "Come on." His eyes went wide when he saw his brother put a knife against Clem's neck. He became even more panicked when he looked to Alex for help and found none. She was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed against her chest just watching. There was noting in her body language that said she was going to move. "Dean, let him go!"

"Not until he talks."

"Alex, a little help here?"

She never moved. Her eyes didn't even look to Sam as she spoke. "Where is the tablet, Clem?"

The frightened man looked to the woman who had seemed so nice earlier and felt his blood run cold at the stony expression on her face. "Pawn shop," he said. "First and Main."

Dean release the man and stepped back. "There. That wasn't so hard now was it?" he asked as he put away the blade before calmly retying his tie while walking to the other side of the table.

"Thank you for your cooperation," said Alex as she stood and followed Dean to the door.

Sam followed them in complete shock. He had never seen either of them act like that during an interrogation. For a moment he actually believed that Dean would kill the man. He wasn't sure what to think about Alex's behavior either. She had been firmly against Dean torturing Alistair. What could possibly make it okay for this to happen in her eyes? The more he thought about it, the more it bugged him. By the time they reached the Impala, he couldn't resist anymore.

"Since when are you guys okay with torturing people?"

Dean paused before opening his door and looked to his brother. "Look, Sam. He wasn't talking , and we are running low on time. I did what I had to do okay?"

"No, Dean. It's not okay. We could have gotten him to talk. All we needed was a few more minutes." He turned to the woman beside him. "Alex, how are you guys not seeing this?" She didn't look at him as she opened the door. "I know you guys went through a lot in Purgatory, but…"

The slamming of the door cut off his words and caused Sam to jump. Alex's eyes contained pure fire as she stared him down. "You're right, Sam. You don't know because you weren't there. You didn't spend every day down their busting your ass in hopes of making it to tomorrow. While we were fighting for our lives you were back here…" Alex realized that her temper was getting the best of her and put on the breaks before she said something she would regret, "shopping at freaking farmer's markets and doing yoga. Don't you even pretend that you can understand what it's like, Sam. I don't want to hear it."

Both Winchester's just stood there watching her as she quickly got into the back seat of the Impala and shut the door. Sam looked to Dean in hopes that his brother would be able to shed some light on her sudden outburst. Dean just shrugged and got behind the wheel leaving Sam to wonder what the kindest woman he had ever know had been through to make her so cold.

* * *

Chasing down leads was the most boring part of the job. Few hunters enjoyed doing it, but you had to do your research if you wanted to get the job done. Alex was fine with the book stuff. It was the running all over the planet trying to get people to talk that she wasn't so fond of. When Mrs. Tran had managed to get the guy at the pawn shop to talk with so little effort, she had quickly becoming her hero.

Mrs. Tran's quick work led them to the door Sam had just knocked on. When there was no answer, they checked the pawn slip again to make sure they were in the right place. Alex was about to suggest they come back later when they heard someone call Kevin's name.

Turning, they found a man standing behind them. He looked rather out of place in his tailored suit. The hat and cane were a bit much too.

Dean went on the defensive. "Who wants to know?"

"Oh, relax, Dean," the man said. "I'm not going to steal you Prophet." He turned his attention to Kevin's mother. "Ah. And you must be Kevin's mother. Um… Beau." He kissed her hand and turned his attention to Alex. He bowed low. "The great Alexandra Mayfair. May I say, it is my honor to met the queen of Hell?"

"Queen of Hell?" asked Mrs. Tran.

"It's not what it sounds like," said Alex without taking her eyes off of the man. "Trust me. I'll explain it to you later."

The man smiled at the both before looking behind them to the prophet. "Kevin, imagine my lick. Here I was, working so hard looking for you that I never stopped to think you might be looking for me. I have something for you."

All three hunters went for their weapons when they saw him reach into his jacket pocket.

"Oh relax," he said as he presented them with an envelope. "An invitation, my dears, to a very exclusive auction.

"Let me guess," said Dean., "where you'll be selling the tablet?"

"Well, when we acquire an item as hot as the Word of God, it's smart to unload it as fast as possible. And we are in such desperate need of a headliner for tonight's gala."

"Any chance you have four extra tickets in there for the rest of us?" asked Alex as she put away her gun. "I'd be very upset if you invited Kevin without thinking of the rest of us. You see, where he goes, we go."

"Oh, if you're worried about the safety of the Prophet, rest assured that we have a strict 'no casting, no cursing," he looked to Sam and Dean, "no supernaturally flicking the two of you against the wall just for the fun of it' policy."

Sam found it hard to believe. The wards this Beau described were in fact quite powerful. He wasn't sure if they could do all he was claiming.

"Well, I am the right hand of a god after all – Plutus, specifically."

"Is that even a planet anymore?" Dean quipped.

Alex rolled her eyes. If the little grin Dean was fighting was any indication, he was rather proud of his little joke. Beau went on as if he Dean was an idiot, which he was making himself out to be at the moment.

"It's the god of greed. And my liege has warded these premises against Hell, Heaven, and beyond. Even the lovely Alexandra could not do magic in this place. It is quite possibly the safest place you precious prophet could be." He studied their faces for a moment. It was clear that none of them were backing down. Letting out a sigh he said, "Perhaps I'll just go ahead and add a plus –four to the prophets invitation. Copacetic?"

"It'll do," Alex said.

He tossed the envelope into the air and vanished.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Peanut!" Dean bellowed. "All right," he turned to the rest of them. "What do we have to bid?" Sam scoffed. "What? We can't just show up there empty-handed."

"Dean," began Sam, "all we have to our names is a few hacked gold cards."

"Then we'll just have to come up with some more money." He turned his full attention to Alex. "Feel like hitting the tables?"

Alex shook her head. "Even if we pulled out the old drunken couple routine, there is no way we could come up with much before tonight. I checked out the bar earlier. There's not much there."

"Well, then, we're gunna have to get creative."

"Huh," Sam said. " Well…"

Dean followed his brother's eyes. Sam was focusing rather hard on Dean's beloved Impala. He looked from the car to his brother a few times before he fully comprehended what Sam was implying.

"No. . Say it and I will kill you, your children, and your grand children." Alex cleared her throat. "Sorry, Alex." He suddenly felt a little bad. If he was going after his brother's children, it was pretty safe for him to assume that they would also be her children. Well, at least he thought it was.

"It's okay. Nobody is going to do anything to anybody's babies. Human or metallic. Okay?" She looked back and forth between the boys, eyebrows raised to indicate she expected them to answer. They both nodded.

Everyone was silent for a moment until something came to Sam. "Wait a second. They – these auctions –they display the items to the bidders beforehand, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So all we got to do is get Kevin close enough to memorize the spell."

Alex smiled. "Sam, I could kiss you right now." In truth, if she was honest with herself she was dying to kiss Sam. She just couldn't bring herself to do it until he confessed his secret to her.

"What do you think, braniac?" Dean asked. "Think you can swing it?"

Kevin looked a bit unsure of himself. He was mercifully spared from answering by his mother. "Of course he can swing it… if the bumper stickers on my Previa mean anything."

The others moved to leave while Dean just turned to his beloved Impala with sympathy. "They didn't mean it, Baby," he said as if begging forgiveness for the conversation a moment ago. Alex place a hand on his shoulder. There was a small smile on his face when Dean turned to looked at her. Her silent words told him that she understood and wouldn't have let Sam actually do anything to his most prized possession. He nodded in thanks before going to the driver's side and getting behind the wheel.

* * *

Not being armed was making Alex very uncomfortable. She couldn't even have a small boot knife at the auction. They all agreed to leave their weapons at the motel. Waiting to unload them in the Impala once they arrived would have been too tempting, so they left everything behind. At least that's what they had agreed on.

"Really, Dean?" chided Alex when the metal detector went off.

The elder Winchester gave her a sheepish look before he began handing over his weapons. Every time it looked like he was done, another weapon would manifest itself. He looked at the guards as he placed his final weapon, the demon knife, into the box. "I'll be back for this."

* * *

Display cases filled the room. Each one contained some rare artifact that most people would consider legend. A small gasp escaped Alex's lungs when her eyes landed on a rather large hammer.

"No way," she said as she approached the case, her voice no more than a whisper "Mjolnir."

Sam came to stand by her, just as awe struck as she was. "Are you serious?"

"What are you guys on about?" asked Dean. "It's just a hammer."

"Just a hammer?" said Alex. "This is Mjolnir." He gave her a blank look. "Thor's hammer..." Still nothing. "Marvel?"

"Oh yeah," said Dean. Leave it to the Winchester to only remember what something was because it was in an action movie. "So much for having to be worthy huh?"

While Dean thought he was being clever, the others just found him annoying. At least that is what the double bitch faces he got from Sam and Alex told him. _You know for two people that aren't together anymore they sure do act alike_, he thought before walking over to Kevin.

The teenager was looking dejectedly at the display case before him. The case held the tablet, but the words were covered so that none could read it. "I guess we're not as original as we thought," he said.

"It's okay," Sam said as he tried to calm his clearly upset brother. "It's okay. We just got to come up with a plan 'B'."

"And what, pray tell, could possibly have been plan 'A'," a heavily accented voice behind them said. "Bring the prophet to the most dangerous place on Earth, memorize the tabled, and the vamoose?" They all turned. "Hello boys. My lady."

Dean was the one to speak. "Crowley."

"Kevin. What a pleasure to see you. Sorry about your little playdate. Alexandra, given anymore thought to my little offer?"

"Answer's still no, Crowley."

"Ah well, never hurts to ask." He turned his attention to Mrs. Tran. "And who is this lovely young thing?" He directed his attention to Kevin for a moment. "Must be your sister." The sound of Mrs. Tran's palm meeting the king of Hell's face rang through the room.

"Stay away from my son."

"Charming," Crowley said as he watched her walk away. "Defiling her course just made number one on my to-do list." Dean stepped forward as if to fight him, but Sam and Alex held him back. "Unh, unh, uhn, unh. Don't mind a love tap, but anything more and our mookie pals here may just have to throw you out, and that would be a shame."

"He's right, Dean," said Sam. "It's not worth it."

"Listen to Moose, Squirrel."

"Let it go, Dean," Alex said calmly. "He'll get what's coming to him."

The elder Winchester seemed to hear what his brother and friend were saying as he visibly relaxed. There was just something about Crowley that pissed Dean off. He wasn't sure if it was the snarky comments or the way he kept trying to pull Alex to his side, but all he knew was just that he didn't like the demon at all.

A bald man entered the room and everyone moved to take their seats. Alex held Dean back for a moment to make sure he was okay. Once she was sure that he was going to be able to keep his cool in the room full of monsters, she took her hand from his arm and turned. Alex walked right into a young man in a fast food uniform.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's quite alright, Alexandra," he said.

Alex was instantly wary, "How do you know my name?"

The young man looked directly past her. "Dean Winchester?"

"Do I know you?" asked Dean.

"Uh, no," he said, "but, uh, I knew Castiel."

"You're an angel?"

Alex was instantly on high alert. There had only ever been one angel she dealt with that she felt she could trust, and he was currently in Purgatory. "Are you here for the tablet?"

"We protect the word of God."

"Well, awesome job so far, uh…" Dean paused to read the name tag on the uniform he wore, "Alfie."

"Actually, my name is Samandiriel."

"Nah," said Alex. "I think I like Alfie better."

The angel gave her a tight, closed mouth smile before asking them where Castiel was. Both hunters looked at the ground. Cas was not a topic they had discussed. Alex may not have seen what happened, but she knew Dean would not have just left the angel behind. She told the angel as much. All that Dean said was that Cas didn't make it. Alfie seemed to accept this answer.

"You know, there are some in Heaven who still believe, despite his mistakes, that Castiel's heart was always in the right place."

"Is that what you think?" Alex asked, studying the angel's face for any hint of deception.

"I think too much heart was always Castiel's problem."

With that, the angel walked away. Dean was lost in his memories of the final moments in Purgatory when the sound a a gavel bringing the auction to order reached his ears. Shaking his head, he came out of his stooper and gave Alex a weak smile. He could tell by the look on her face that she desperately wanted to know what had happened in their final moments in Purgatory, but she would never push. She would never ask. Dean would tell her when he was good and ready. There was no point in bringing it up until then.

Alex lead the way to the others. They took their seats on either side of Sam. Alex sat closer to the middle next to Mrs. Tran while Dean was near the end of the row. They all began passing everything of value they had in their possession to Sam as Beu began the auction.

Crowley sat behind them and noticed how they were pooling their limited resources. "Don't know why you're so keen on that hunk of dirt," he said unable to resist getting a little dig in. "So it tells you how to blast back a few demons? I'll just make more. Can't get rid of all my black-eye boys, Samantha."

Sam turned to the demon behind him. "Yeah, we'll see."

There was something in the way the younger Winchester said these words that gave him pause. When he saw the smug look on the female hunter's face, he knew that there was something far more important of that tablet than just the spell Kevin had use to escape.

The first item brought up for action was something none of them had ever heard of before, but none of them cared. They were only there for one thing. They didn't even look up until they heard what the opening bid was.

"Let's start the bidding with, um, three tons of dwarven gold?"

Five heads quickly popped up to stair wide-eyed at Beau. The bids quickly began to climb higher and higher. Sam looked down at the measly 2 grand in his hand and instantly knew they were in trouble.

"Plan C?" he asked.

Dean quickly agreed. "Big time."

"Guys," Alex said as she leaned in a bit closer to the two brothers, "I think we are a bit out of our league here."

Dean's eyes followed one of the auction staff members as he wheeled a cart out of the room with several items on it, a plan forming in his mind. "I'm gunna head to the restroom."

Alex followed the path his eyes took. Realizing what he intended to do, she gave him a hard look. "Don't take to long," she said. "Hate for you to miss the auction."

Dean gave her a nod. "I'll be right back."

As he watched his brother go, Sam started trying to come up with ways for them to make a quick exit if Dean was somehow able to pull this off. Alex on the other hand was trying to come up with something to bid. She admired Dean's courage, but she knew there was no way he was going to be able to steel that tablet.

_The Impala is out,_ she thought. _A soccer mom isn't going to have anything to offer these guys, and there is no way I'm letting the boys make another sacrifice play. I don't think I could handle having to get either of them out of Hell again._

It was when a little old man in front of her held up a bloodstained paper bag and bid 5/8 of a virgin that an idea came to her. "Sam," she said, "I know what we can bid."

"What?"

"Me." Sam looked at her in confusion. "I'm the Mayfair. You can bid me."

Sam's eyes went wide as a small trickle of fear worked it's way up his spine as he realized she was deadly serious. "No, Alex. No. There is no way I'm letting you do this."

"Do what?" said Dean as he came to sit beside his brother. "Plan C tanked."

"Maybe you should try plan D for dumbass," Crowley offered.

Sam didn't even look at the demon or acknowledge his remark in any way. He did not get a chance to tell his brother Alex's insane idea as Beau stepped up with the main event of the night.

"Our next log, the Word of God." He held up the tabled for all to see. "Capitol 'G'. Very old. Very rare."

Crowley didn't even wait for him to finish before jumping to his feet to place his first bid. "Three billion dollars."

"Whoa," the boys said in unison as they turned to look at the king of Hell.

Alex, on the other hand, just stared straight ahead. Each bid that was placed made her even more anxious. Things were getting out of hand fast. If she was going to do something she would need to do it fast. Her muscles had grown so tense that she began to twitch. The man beside her could feel the tension coming off of her.

He could see the wheels spinning in her head. Her mind was going full stem ahead, and Sam did not like the destination. He placed a hand on her jittering knee. Her knee instantly stopped bouncing as she looked over to him. There was a pleading look in his eyes. The small shake of his head told her that he knew what she wanted to do, and he wasn't willing to let her do it.

"Ah, I'm sorry, gentlemen," Beau's voice brought them back to attention as they broke eye contact and looked to the front. "It seems that out reserve price has not been met. So in order to stimulate the bidding, we're going to add an item to this lot." He pointed to the crowed. "Kevin Tran, Prophet of the Lord."

Kevin suddenly found himself on the platform, chained to a pole near Platus' feet.

"No!" Mrs. Tran exclaimed as she shot to her feet. She started naming off everything she owned in an attempt to save her son, desperation clear in her voice. The god only chuckled. He was not interested in material possessions. Both he and Alex knew it.

The hunter rose to her feet and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. She gave her a reassuring smile before squaring her shoulders and facing Plutus.

Sam, knowing what she was about to do, reached for her hand. "Alex, please don't do this," he begged.

She gave him one quick look before facing the front again. "I bid the Mayfair."

"Alex!" said Dean. "Sit down!"

" No, Dean." She shook her head at him as a small murmur moved through the crowd. Few fully understood what it was she was offering.

"Pardon?" Beau asked. "Why would a god want something a ridiculous as an old ship?"

"I'm not talking about a ship." She felt a squeeze on her hand and turned to look at Sam. His face was a mixture of pleading and panic. For a moment, Alex felt like she had been taken back in time. As she looked into his hazel eyes she found herself back at a time before Purgatory, before Heaven and Hell, even before Lucifer. For a moment, Sam was hers once again. Her heart swelled again with love for the man beside her. It was that love that pushed her forward. No doubt in her mind that if she backed out now that Dean would do something stupid to save Kevin, and Sam would follow right behind him. She gave him a small smile and addressed Plutus again. "The Mayfair I'm talking about is not a ship. It's a mantel. My mantel."

"And?"

Alex began to talk about her family's history. She explained the power that the Mayfair held and the things she had been able to do.

Beau looked to his patron who just shook his head no.

"I'm sorry. A god has no need for your petty parlor tricks."

"Nice try Alexandra," Crowley said. "Better luck next time."

At the sound of Crowley's voice she had an idea.

"I can give you Hell."

"What?!" Crowley yelled.

Alex gave him a little smile. _Two can play at this game._ "The Mayfair is not just magic. It's a throne. The throne of Hell. I am the rightful queen. If you accept my offer I can give you the keys to a kingdom."

"No she can't. It's my bloody kingdom!"

Crowley looked as if he was ready to murder the woman when a few rather large associates came to stand near them. The show of force was not lost on the demon who instantly tried to calm himself.

Beau conferred with Plutus for a moment. The god spoke. "It's a good offer, but I'm afraid it's not good enough."

Sam let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Since the moment Alex stood, his heart had been in his throat. If she managed to pull this off they would have the tablet, but it would also make her extremely vulnerable. Her powers had saved their asses more times than he could count. She was a skilled hunter and could fight without them it was true, but knowing that demons couldn't touch her and a witches curse could not kill her had always brought a sense of comfort to his mind. It was a comfort he was not ready to lose.

"As appealing as it is, if I take your offer I'll have a civil war on my hands. That's something I don't really fancy as payment."

The small Asian woman was stunned by this turn of events. She watched the hunter give her an apologetic smile before retaking her seat. By the reaction the Winchester's gave at her words, she knew that what the girl had offered was far more than she was letting on. She was grateful to her for trying, but now it was up to her to save her son.

"I bid my soul!"

"Are you sure?" Dean asked "That's a big move."

The woman nodded. Plutus, obviously intrigued by the offer sat forward in his chair. Crowley tried to offer him all of the souls in Hell, but that did not have the same appeal to him as the single soul did.

"This lady's soul is the most valuable thing she has. It's everything." There was a slight pause.

"Congrats, sweetheart." He dropped a gavel and brought the auction to a close.

* * *

Mrs. Tran could not seem to stop shaking. The realization of what she had done began to sink in. She didn't regret it one bit, but that did not mean that the prospect of losing her soul didn't scare the shit out of her.

A warm hand clasped hers. She looked up to see Alex taking a seat beside her. She gave her a reassuring smile as she squeezed her hand a little bit tighter. As she looked at the young hunter, she could not help but voice her fears.

"Losing my soul… is it going to hurt?"

"Probably," said Dean. His own experience had involve hell-hounds after all, and that was all he really had to go on.

"Will I die?"

"No." Sam was the one to answer this time. "You'll just wish you were dead." Looking to Alex, he saw the pained expression on her face. He knew that Dean had told her a bit about what happened while she was gone. There were still times he would wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night after his dream turned into a hellish nightmare of a memory reminding him of what he had done during that year.

When Alex herd Mrs. Tran whisper an "okay" she grasped her hand tighter and wrapped her other arm around her in a side hug.

Beau entered the room and walked straight to the women. "It's time," he said.

The boys stood while Alex remained seated on Mrs. Tran's side. The woman asked for a few moments. Beau nodded and walked away. Sam and Dean looked to Alex. She gave them a small nod, ensuring them that she had it handled. She was not going to leave the older woman's side until she wanted her to.

"I'm okay," she said. "You can go with them."

"Are you sure?" Alex asked. When Mrs. Tran nodded, Alex gave her one final squeeze before leaving to join the boys.

Alex looked on in disgust as the little old man from before held Mjlonir like and old lover. It made her afraid of what he would do with it, what he had done with it. Anyone who would bid 5/8 of a virgin obviously did not have any qualms about using the hammer's powers. She moved through the room examining everyone's features, trying to figure out who and what they all were.

All of the other items had been handed out. They were just waiting for Kevin to appear with the tablet.

"Where's the kid?" Dean asked.

Plutus snapped his fingers and Kevin suddenly appeared before them. A relieved smile appeared on Mrs. Tran's face for a moment before being replaced with trepidation once more.

"What are you gunna do with her soul?" Sam asked.

"Whatever I want," the god replied. "I might sell it, or maybe I'll just tuck it away with my other precious objects, let them keep me warm at night." He chuckled when he saw the fear on the woman's face.

Mrs. Tran reached forward , and Dean noticed there was something off about her arm. "Wait!" he exclaimed before grabbing her arm and pushing her sleeve aside. A large burn took the place of the anti-possession tattoo. Something was definitely wrong.

Crowley's voice sounded from her mouth. "Hello, boys." Here eyes were the red of a crossroads demon as she gave the boys a wicked smile and sent them flying.

A stunned look appeared on Alex's face as she watched Beau kill Plutus. When she looked to what had once been Mrs. Tran her blood began to boil. "See you later love," Crowley said before he grabbed the tablet, turned, and sprinted away. Alex quickly followed behind.

Sam called out her name as she ran past him, but she didn't slow down. He was having a hard time getting to his feet. They would both be long gone before he could reach her. Dean however had made it to his feet. He grabbed his precious demon knife from the box of weapons near by and gave chase to the two women who had fled. He didn't see them in the hallway, but he could hear their footsteps up ahead.

* * *

Alex was gaining on Crowley. Mrs. Tran was no slouch in the physical fitness department, but Alex spent the last 300 years doing nothing by fighting to stay alive. The gap between them quickly closed until Alex was able to throw her arms around the smaller woman and tackle her to the ground.

Both women grunted as they hit the floor. Alex used all of her strength to push herself up and roll Crowley over. She straddled the demon to keep him on the ground and raised her fist.

"Let her go, Crowley. Now!"

"Now why would I do that. I rather like this view."

The smug look on the demon's face as he looked her up and down infuriated her. Alex lashed out and punched the demon in the face, careful not to do too much damage to the vesicle but enough to get her point across.

"Oh what's the matter, Alexandra? Can't force me to do what you say anymore?"

"Well see about that?" She raised her fist and prepared to strike again when his words stopped her.

"Tell me. How many spells have you been able to do since making your grand reentry to the world? Hum? My guess would be zero." A cold chill ran down Alex's spine as she slowly lowered her arm. Her mind was racing to figure out how he knew this, but nothing would come to her. "I know where your magic is, and if you ever want to see it again, you'll let me go."

Having her magic back would make things much easier for the former witch. Not only would the spells she once relied so heavily upon on hunts return to her, she would be able to look into Sam's mind. She would finally be able to get the answers from him that she so wanted.

Crowley, sensing her inner turmoil, decide to strike. "Face it, Alexandra. Without your little bag of tricks the only thing keeping you in one piece is my say so."

That was not the most intelligent thing he could have said. Alex's rage rose once more. She proceeded to punch him over and over again until Dean pulled her off. As he removed her, she reached for the tablet and sent it flying across the room.

"Mom!" Kevin yelled when he entered the room and saw his mother lying bloody on the floor.

Red smoke began to billow from her mouth. There was a slight pause before a door on the other side of the room opened to reviel Crowley once again in his proper form.

"Well, that was exciting," He said. " Good luck closing the gates of Hell…" he picked up the tablet from the ground, "… without this." He looked directly at Alex. " Call me when you are ready to make a deal." Then he vanished.

"Crowley!" Alex yelled. "Get back here you son of a bitch!" Sam came up and placed a and on her shoulder trying to calm her. Neither he nor his brother could figure out why she was so upset. They hadn't heard what Crowley said to her about her magic. They weren't even aware that her magic was gone. _ How does he know?_ Alex wonder. _How the hell does he know?_

* * *

The tension in the room was palpable. Kevin sat in front of his unresponsive mother. Mrs. Tran hadn't said a word since Crowley left her. The boys had cleaned her up as best they could. While Alex had the best first aid skills, Kevin wouldn't let her near his mother.

He had followed Sam into the room to find Dean pulling her off of his bloody, beaten mother. Sam had had to restrain the prophet from attacking his former lover when the realization of what happened dawned on him. The hateful words he had yelled at her were well deserved. Dean had tried to make him see that it was Crowley she was going after and not his mother, but Alex had placed a hand on his shoulder and silence him.

She understood where the young man was coming from. She still remembered what it was like to see Sam and Bobby taken over by a demon. The pain inflicted on the demon had also effected them. Seeing Sam writhe in pain as holy water was splashed on him had been difficult. Watching her father stab himself in the gut to stop the demon inside him had been even more so. She got it. If she had been in his shoes she would have reacted the same way.

The silence was finally broken when Kevin spoke, "I just want to talk to my mom alone."

"Sure," Sam said. "Five minutes."

The hunters walked out of the room to give them a few moments. Dean closed the door behind them and turned to find Sam giving Alex quite the tongue lashing. He could tell from the look on his face that she felt bad enough about Mrs. Tran. His brother berating her wasn't going to help anything.

"Alex, what were you thinking?" She did not look at him. "Alex?!"

"It was Crowley, Sam. You know? The King of Hell? How much better would our lives be if he was out of the picture?"

"It will be a lot better when we lock the gates of Hell. Why couldn't you just…"

"Sam, stop," Dean said.

"No. What the hell happened to you? First that guy at the jail and now this. I've never seen you this what. What is going on?"

Alex fixed her blue eyes to his hazel ones. She wished more than anything that she could tell him all that had happened. But she knew the second she did the way he looked at her would change. She already had to deal with the fact that he no longer had the look of love in his eyes that she had dreamed of seeing again for so long. Now he only looked at her with caring. Not love or even lust. Just simple affection. Once he knew the truth, he would look at her with pity. That would be her undoing.

Dean watched the exchange with baited breath. He had wanted his brother and best friend to have a sit down ever since they got back. He wanted to tell Sam himself what had happened, but it wasn't his place to say anything. Alex would tell him when she was good and ready. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized the sound coming from the other room. The sound of silence.

"Guys, it seem a little quiet in there to you?"

They all stopped for a second to listen. When they heard nothing, Dean opened the door and they all rushed inside. There was no sign of Kevin or his mother anywhere. Sam started calling out to the boy, but there was no response.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Dean yelled when it became obvious that the prophet was gone.

There minds all went to Crowley and thoughts of him once again taking Kevin prisoner until Alex noticed a small note resting on one of the chairs.

"Guys, look at this," she said as she unfolded the paper and began reading.

_Guys,_

_ I'm taking Mom and getting out of here. Don't come looking for me. I'll be fine. Crowley has the tablet, so you don't need me anymore. Take care of yourselves._

_ \- Kevin_

"What's that kid thinking?" Sam asked in exasperation.

"He's thinking everyone around us always ends up dead," said Dean.

"Why would he think that?"

"I heard Alfie say something to him," Dean said.

They all lost themselves in thought for a moment. There was no denying that they did a lot of good in this world, but it was also true that disaster clung to them like a cheep suit. Death was quite literally like an old friend, and it was only a matter of time before he came to visit again.

**Okay guys, what do you think? There hasn't been a lot of feedback so it's been hard to keep writing. Review and let me know if you want me to keep going with the story.**


	7. Chapter 6

_Before we get started, I would like to take the opportunity to respond to a couple reviews. This chapter is dedicated to Becca and __banaanainpj6._

_Becca: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like my writing. Sorry I couldn't send you a preview for this chapter like I usually do for those that review. I just didn't have a way to reach you. Sam and Alex have a long road ahead of them. I hope you continue to enjoy the journey. _

_Banaanainpj6: Here is the more you asked for. You're not the only one angry at Sam. Trust me. It's about to hit the fan. ;) _

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 6_

Tensions between Sam and Alex weren't getting much better. They were nice enough to one another with a few genuine moments of real affection, but there was still no denying that things weren't quite right. It had been two weeks since Kevin vanished. Alex was content to let him do as he pleased while Sam kept trying to find him. They would chase down leads, find nothing, and take care of any random happenings in the area.

The lack of action made the tension between the three hunters even more apparent. Dean wasn't entirely happy with Sam. Sure he was pissed about him dropping out for a year while he and Alex fought for their lives in Purgatory, but the one thing that was eating at him the most was the fact that Sam still hadn't said a word to her about the woman he left behind.

Dean wasn't sure if Sam's confession would help ease the tension between the two people he cared about most in this world or drive a permanent wedge between them. All he knew was that he couldn't take it much longer. So, when Alex had found a new case for them in Missouri he sent Sam to check them out while he and Alex packed everything up.

"Alright," he said. "You've got to end this?"

Alex paused in packing up the last of her close to look at Dean, confusion clearly written on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"The Mexican standoff Sam doesn't know you're having." Alex rolled her eyes and turned away. "I mean it Alex. He has no idea that you know what went on the past year, but you keep holding it over his head. Watching the two of you's driving me nuts over here."

"What do you want me to say Dean?" asked Alex as she zipped up her bag with a little more force than was necessary. Her voice was slightly higher as she began miming. "Hey, Sam. Guess what? I overheard you and Dean talking when I first got back. I know all about your little girlfriend, and it's okay. You only left me to rot in Purgatory for a few hundred years, but no hard feelings right?" She dropped the act and glared at Dean.

He sighed. "No, not that. It's just… I know Sam feels guilty. My brother may not exactly be clear on what his feelings for you are anymore, but I know for damn sure that he doesn't want to hurt you anymore than he already has." Alex's expression softened. "Just let him off the hook. That's all I'm asking."

Alex stood there for a moment, thinking about what Dean said. She knew he was right. Even so, there was still something holding her back from saying something. They were supposed to be soul mates. Soul mates don't leave each other behind. She was afraid that is she confronted him it would end things for good, and her heart could not take that. She still held out hope that he would forget about this mystery woman and love her the way he did before. It may just be a dream, but it was all she had left.

"I'll think about it. Okay, Dean?" she said softly.

"Okay." A moment of silence passed between them. Dean could see the turmoil in her face as she looked back down at the floor while emotions threatened to overtake her. It was finally a little more than he could stand. "Let's get out of here," he said by way of defusing the "chick flick moment" they had just shared. Alex nodded before grabbing her things and following him out the door.

* * *

Alex began filling the boys in on the details from the news article as they pulled up to the house, each of them dressed their fake FBI best. The more Alex explained the less Sam seemed to understand about why they were there. A woman blacks out after killing her husband, no big deal. To him it sounded more like insanity than monsters.

"So, how does that make this our kind of thing?" Sam asked.

"I just have a feeling." Sam raised his eyebrows. "What? You've always trusted me before. Why not now?"

He didn't have a good answer, so he looked to Dean for help. Dean shrugged. In truth he wasn't sure if it was for them or not. He just didn't want to sit around anymore waiting for something to happen. There was no sign of Kevin. Even Sam and Alex's combined hacking skills couldn't find a record of him. Sitting around and watching his companions avoid each other was not something he wanted to do anymore, so when Alex said she found a case he jumped on it.

They exited the care and walked to the police line. A deputy quickly approached them and came up short when they flashed their fake badges. "FBI?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied Sam., "happened to be in the neighborhood."

"First a Texas Ranger, now you guys?"

Alex stopped doing a visual scan of the area and stared at the deputy. "Texas Ranger?"

"Yes, ma'am. Right over there."

When the boys saw who he was pointing to, they both developed looks of annoyance on their faces

"Oh, you got to be kidding me," Dean said before stepping under the yellow tape.

"You know this guy?" asked Alex as she followed close behind.

"We've met," Sam offered.

They stopped directly behind him. His back was still turned as he finished fanning himself with his cowboy hat and placed it back on his head.

"Hey, Chuck Norris," called Dean.

The man turned around and looked astonished to see the boys standing before him.

"Sam? Dean!"

He pulled Sam into a tight hug, trapping his arms. Alex's eyebrows shot up her forehead as she watched the scene unfold.

"Forgot he was a hugger," offered Sam.

Alex smiled. "Apparently."

"Come here, " the man said as he turned to Dean. Knowing he would not be able to get out of it, Dean relented and gave into the hug. Once that was over, the man turned his attention to Alex. "And who's this lovely young lady?"

"This," said Sam, "is Alex. Alex, this is Garth."

"Alex?" Garth asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Last time I checked that was still my name."

He looked back and forth between Sam and Alex for a moment, then over to Dean, then back to Sam and Alex.

"Bobby's Alex?" She nodded. He lunged forward and wrapped her in a hug. She instantly froze and looked to the boys for help. Sam just shrugged while Dean gave her a knowing smile. "Bobby told me a lot about you."

"Great. Mind letting me go now?"

He stepped back for a moment and just smiled at the trio.

"A Texas Ranger, Garth?" Dean asked. "Seriously? We're in Missouri."

"What? Come on. I look like a funeral director in one of those. Wow. I heard some chatter you two were back in the batter's box, but I didn't believe it 'til now." He pointed to Alex. "Didn't even know you were back in the picture."

He excused himself when his phone began to ring. Opening his jacket, he revealed not one but several phones. It took him a moment to realize which one was playing the horribly annoying song before answering.

They all stood there and listened as he told someone they presumed was another hunter how to take down a revenant. His knowledge of the subject was top notch. No doubt about that. Alex was actually impressed. She'd only ever seen her dad do that kind of report on the fly. Realizing that made her suddenly miss him the old hunter even more.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked once Garth had ended the call.

"My job, hombre."

"Your job?"

"Yeah."

"And since when is giving advice your job?"

A thought suddenly crossed Sam's mind. "Hold up," he said. "Are you the new Bobby?"

That got Alex's attention. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't been paying any real attention until that point. When Garth answered in the affirmative, she became very upset.

"No! There is nobody like my dad. There is never going to be a new Bobby."

Garth felt a little bad for the woman. Bobby had told him about his adopted daughter and how she had vanished into thin air after they defeated Lucifer. Sam had somehow made his way back, but there had been no trace of Alex.

Alex moved past him to the man he had been talking to before.

"So, how are you tied up in all of this?"

"Uh…," he said. "I'm Scott. Scott Lew. These… that's my dad."

Alex nodded her understanding while Dean offered less than heartfelt condolences. Sam asked a few probing questions about the Lew's and what Mrs. Lew's physical and mental health had been like recently. There was nothing unusual to report. The two had been high school sweethearts that were married for 30 years. None of what had happened made any sense to him.

* * *

There was still a puddle of drying blood in on the garage floor as the hunters searched the room for any clues that might tell them what happened.

"No EMF," said Sam from his crouched position.

"There's no sulfur either," said Alex.

"So now what?" Dean asked.

"Hold on there you guys," said Garth. "There's a lot of things to factor in here. Uh, it happened last night, so the readings could be cold by now."

"Good point."

"And, uh, even if there was sulfur, Barney Fife and his crew probably contaminated the whole crime scene and any evidence that was with it."

As much as it pained Alex to admit it, she agreed with Garth. The fact that he was trying to take Bobby's place did not sit well with her. As far as she was concerned it was a hole that would never be filled. Sam and Dean's obvious unease with the situation did little to help. He really seemed to know his stuff. She'd give him that. She just wasn't ready to accept the fact that somebody else was now doing what Bobby had done for so many.

"Well," Alex said, "since there's nothing to see here, I'm going to head over to the hospital and talk to the mom. See what she can tell us."

The boys started to follow her until Garth called out to them saying that he had found something. The scraggily hunter had started to follow them, but had stopped when his boot came into contact with some sort of green goo.

"Is that gum, or is that ectoplasm?" Dean asked.

"Green ectoplasm?" Alex replied. "I've only ever heard of it being black."

Garth knelt down and placed his finger in the goo. He sniffed it for a moment before tasting it. Alex's stomach gave a violent heave at the sight.

"Oh that's gross."

"Definitely ectoplasm," Garth said. "So, what are we thinking – uh, some kind of ghost, right?" Nobody had a chance to answer him as his phone started ringing. They watched quietly as he spoke with someone on. Garth pulled a marker out of his pocket and started writing something on his hand before thanking the person on the other end of the line and ending the call and turning back to them. "Asked the coroner to drop me a line in case the autopsy turned up anything unusual. And guess what, our dead guy had the word Alcott carved into his chest." He extended his hand and showed them the word Alcott written on his palm.

"With what?" Sam asked.

"Coroner's best guess? His wife Mary's fingernails."

"So to the hospital it is," Alex chirped.

* * *

There was a police officer stationed outside the door when they arrived to questions Mrs. Lew. She was handcuffed to the bed and still very confused. She took one look at the boys and got nervous, not that Alex could blame here.

_If I killed my husband without knowing it and these two giants suddenly walked into the room, I'd be a little scared too._

Garth tried to soften things by giving her a little smile and tipping his hat. "Ma'am."

Alex just took a seat next to the bed and tried to sound as kind as possible. She started by asking the woman how she was feeling before telling her she was with the FBI and would like to ask her some questions if that was alright. When she nodded, Alex continued.

"Mrs. Lew, can you tell us what happened?

"I was at the store getting groceries, and the next thing I know, my son Scott finds me in the driveway. And Chester was…"

A break was clearly coming. This woman wasn't sure which way was up anymore, and it was getting to her. Alex took her hand in an attempt to be comforting.

"Do you remember anything at all about what happened? About Chester dying?"

"Not really. Bits and pieces, I guess." She described the brief flashes of memory as if she was watching them on the television or outside of her own body at the time. Alex would have sworn it was a demon if it hadn't been for the unusual ectoplasm they found at the scene.

"Uh, ma'am," Garth spoke up, "does the word 'Alcott' mean anything to you?"

Mrs. Lew suddenly jerked her hand away from Alex as her muscles tense.

"What does she have to do with anything?" she asked, clearly agitated.

"It's a she?" Sam questioned.

She nodded. "My husband, Chester, and I were going steady in high school for a few years already when we had a big fight."

Dean was the next to ask a question. "What about?"

"Something stupid, I'm sure. It was around prom, and so he took Sara Alcott as his date instead of me.

As they began to dig deeper into this, Mrs. Lew seemed to get more annoyed. She didn't seem to be angry per say, just upset that the memory had even been brought up. Alex thanked her kindly for all of her help and told her she hoped that she would feel better soon before leading the boys out of the hospital.

"Let me get this straight," said Dean as he walked towards the Impala. "This poor guy goes to prom with some girl over 30 years ago and now he's a pancake?"

"I don't know," said Alex. "If it wasn't for the ectoplasm, I'd say we have a demon on our hands. I've never seen a ghost that can make people do something like that and not know it."

They all stood there for a second contemplating the new information.

"Look," said Sam. "This Sara Alcott is still alive. Maybe we should go talk to her."

Dean clapped him on the shoulder. "Good idea, Sammy. First let's get some food. I'm starving."

* * *

Alex's eyes roamed the bar as they waited for their food. Being overly paranoid about her surroundings still hadn't faded, and she wanted to make sure she had an exit strategy if anything were to go wrong. Her focus snapped back to her companions when the waitress brought their food. They all thanked her and began to eat.

"So," Garth said with his mouth full, "give me the skinny. Where have y'all been?" He gestured to Alex and Dean. "Where were you this past year, Dean?" Dean just took another bite of his burger and gave Garth a look that clearly said he had no intention of answering him. "Aw, come on."

"All right." Dean sat down his burger. "I was in Purgatory. Alex was too."

Garth looked back and forth between them. "Like the _Purgatory_ Purgatory?"

"No, the one in Miami," Dean quipped.

Garth seemed to think about this new information for a moment before asking another question. "What was it like?"

Alex sighed, upset that he would not drop the subject. "Let's just say it didn't make my top five vacation spots and leave it at that shall we?"

He flinched slightly at her words. It was obviously a sore subject for the woman. He would be lying if he said he didn't have more questions, but the desire to not have his head separated from his shoulders by someone who Bobby described as 'one of the best damn hunters I've ever seen' won the mental war.

Somehow the conversation managed to shift to the Civil War. Garth's knowledge of the subject was nearly as impressive as the occult knowledge he had displayed in the last 12 hours. It was clear that there was more to the little guy than met the eye. What he lacked in physical prowess, he definitely seemed to be making up for in metal capacity. He had just finished telling them about the divided households when Alex's phone rang.

Checking the caller ID, she saw that it was the local sheriff's office calling.

"Agent Clapton," she answered. There was a pause while she listened to the person on the other end of the line. The boys instantly started preparing to leave when she shot her eyes to them. "Alright thanks. We'll be there in five." She hung up the phone.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Looks like crazy-ass murder sprees run in the family. Scott Law just offed someone at the convenience store on the other side of town."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dean asked as he stood to leave.

As they were leaving, Alex took note of the young man arriving on what appeared to be a 2011 Ducati Diavel. _What is a bike like that doing around here?_ Alex asked herself as she climbed into the back seat of the Impala, suddenly missing her old bike.

* * *

The sheer violence of the crime was impressive, even for her. Seeing monsters cause that kind of carnage was one thing seeing one human do it to another was something else entirely. People were capable of intense violence. She knew that. She'd just never seen what it looked like when someone went to town on a person's head with a shovel before. Once upon a time it probably would have made her sick to her stomach, but not anymore. Purgatory cured that.

"So," Alex moved closer to the body as she spoke, "first the mom and now the son. Think this has something to do with the family?"

Sam shrugged.

"You mean like a ghost with an Oedipus complex?" Dean asked. Alex gave him a funny look. "What?"

"I'm just surprised you even know what that means." Dean pulled a bitch face until he saw the teasing smirk on her hers. She was clearly messing with him.

It was then that Sam noticed Garth had finish talking to the local cops and walking towards them. "Hey, what'd the cops say?"

Garth came to a stop as he stepped in more ectoplasm. "Aw, come on. Not much. Uh, Scott insisted he wasn't in control of himself. Says all he remembers is a red-hot rage."

The possession angle once again rose in Alex's mind, but she knew it wasn't a demon. Her internal monologue stopped instantly when she notice what Garth was wearing.

He still had on his ridiculous ranger's jacket, but the cowboy hat had been replaced with a beat up old ball cap. A very familiar ball cap.

"Is that Bobby's hat?"

He gave her a goofy grin. "Oh, yeah. Sure is. We worked a rugaru case together a few years back. He left it in my car so I kept it…" Alex snatched it from his head, "as a memento."

"You're not my dad," she said in a pointed tone. "And you sure as hell don't get to just wear his hat."

Sam started trying to apologize for her as she walked away. The fact that she hadn't been there when Bobby had died was surely weighing on her. At least that's what he told himself.

Once they reviewed the surveillance footage, they decided to split up. Sam would go talk to Alcott while the others tried find out what the word Scot left behind meant.

* * *

Sara Alcott was actually Sara Brown. She was very welcoming. They sat on the front porch drinking sweet tea while Sam asked her questions about her relationship with Chester Lew. She had been his overly friendly prom date when he and his wife were on a break. As far as she could tell, Mary had never really gotten over it.

Sam had thanked her for her time and left. As he drove, he couldn't help but think about Amelia and Alex. Would they be like Mary and Sara? One always feeling that he had betrayed them with the other? Amelia didn't know where he was. He had only ever casually mentioned Alex to her, describing her as just someone from his past.

Was that true? Was that really all she had been? He had willingly drank gallons of demon blood because he thought it would save her. He could remember the felling of total devastation when she had bled out in his arms and the utter relief when they freed her from Lucifer's spell. She and Dean had been his whole world. At one time he had even wanted to marry her. Now he wasn't sure what she was.

In truth, he didn't know what he felt for her anymore. There was no doubt in his mind that he loved Amelia, he just didn't know if it was the same type of love he could remember having for Alex. Sam wasn't sure that he didn't still love Alex. It just wasn't the same feeling that he remembered.

* * *

Two hours of research and still they were no closer to figuring out what was going on. Dean had gotten frustrated and decided to go get them some beers. Alex and Garth continued to work on the problem at hand. Every few minutes she could feel a set of eyes on her, but Garth would quickly look away any time she looked up.

"Okay," Alex had finally had enough, "what's up?" Garth gave her a confused look. "You keep staring at me. Why?"

Garth felt a little embarrassed at being caught. What he was about to say was probably not going to help endear him to the female hunter in front of him, but he was going to do it anyway.

"Uh I… I know this is none of my business, but… everything okay with you and Sam?"

He'd noticed the tension between them earlier. He would have had to of been blind and stupid not to.

Alex instantly bristled as Garth watched her shut down.

"You're right. It's none of your business."

"Okay. It just seems that you guys are a little tense around each other. Everything I ever heard about you was like something out of a faerie tale. It was like the stuff of legend. I don't get it."

"Legends are just stories." She looked back down at her computer and continued to work.

"We fight legends every day."

She shut her eyes tight and clinched her jaw as she fought to swallow the lump forming in her throat. This was not something she was ready to talk about. Especially not with Garth.

"Don't… just don't worry about it okay." There was an undeniable break in her voice. "If I say everything's okay it is. Okay? Let's just focus on the case so we can solve it before anybody else winds up dead."

"Okay."

He gave her a sorrowful look. It was obvious that things where not okay, but he wasn't going to push her. Bobby had told him enough about her to know that if you pushed her to talk about something she didn't want to things could get ugly fast. So it was probably best to just leave her be for now.

Scrolling through the search results, Alex's eyes landed on a news article. "I found it." A smile formed on her face. "Sussex isn't a who. It's a what. Apparently Scott and Jeff had a tire company together that when bankrupt about a year ago. Even money says Scott blamed Jeff for the whole thing."

"Find anything?" Dean walked into the room and set the brown paper bag on the table with a clink before opening a take-out container of pecan pie from the dinner down the street. Alex turned the computer to face him. He was reading through the article when his phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he saw Sam's name. "Hey, you're on speaker," he answered before setting the phone down and tearing into the pie.

"Sara Alcott's clean," Sam said on the other end of the line, "if you look past the fact that she and Chester knocked boots on prom night back in the day."

"I'd say that's a pretty good reason for a woman to hold a grudge," said Alex. "I know I would." Sam flinched a little at the memories her words evoked. "We know Scott had issues with Jeff. How does a family with grudges add up to a ghost?"

"Guys!" Garth looked up from the warn book in front of him. "Bobby has it right here. Green goo equals a specter."

Alex's head snapped to the side at the mention of Bobby's name. "That's Bobby's journal?"

"Yeah."

She looked at the journal as if it was the most precious thing in the word. To someone that wasn't there for a loved one at the end, it very well may have been.

"I thought it was lost when the Leviathan destroyed his house."

Dean, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable with all of the sentimentality in the room, changed the focus of the conversation. "Specter equals ghost, right?"

"Sort of," Alex said as she snapped back to reality. "It's uh, more like an avenging spirit. It explains everything actually. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before. They posses someone and force them to act on any feelings of betrayal they have."

"Bobby say anything in there about how we hunt these things?" Sam asked through the phone.

Garth quickly scanned the pages. "Uh, the last specter he encountered rose shortly after someone desecrated a nearby grave." He grabbed the laptop from Alex and quickly searched for clues. "Which…" The computer showed him a sheriff's report from just a few days earlier. "Uh, there was a grave desecrated locally three days ago. It says here… oh. This could get awkward."

* * *

Awkward was not even close to describing what the hunters felt when they arrived at the scene of the desecration. A uniformed guard stood outside of the tomb that had a plaque proclaiming it to be "The Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier." Alex couldn't stop herself from rubbing her eyes in frustration as Dean spoke.

"The unknown soldier? You're kidding me, right?"

"Mary Lew steamrolled her husband that day after this place was vandalized," said Garth. "Do the math."

Sam seemed a bit confused. "But I thought the Unknown Soldier was buried in Arlington."

"This is just for the Confederate soldier, Sam." She pointed to the sign. It was hard to read it from that distance, but he could get the jest of it.

"Okay, uh, what about the guard?"

"Uh, he's ceremonial," said Garth. "Gone by dusk."

"So then we do this tonight?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded. It was their best bet at pulling off the salt and burn. "Sooner the better." This whole case was making her uneasy.

"Burn a Confederate soldier's bones in a town full of rednecks? Sure."

Sam's quip caused her to smile slightly, but he had a point. They were going to be in a world of hurt if this thing went south, no pun intended. So they all departed until they could come back under the cover of night.

* * *

Whatever the vandals had done to the tomb must have been minor. There were a few patches of fresh paint that no doubt covered graffiti. If she hadn't known what to look for, Alex wouldn't even have noticed. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

Sam found a piece of string on the ground and examined it.

"What's that?" Alex asked.

"A piece of string."

"Think it's important?"

"Not sure."

"Well, best burn it with the rest." Dean gestured to the concrete lid of the casket. "You two mind giving me a hand here?"

The four hunters move to one side and gave a simultaneous push. The lid scrapped along the sides for a moment before falling to the floor. The soldier inside was still fully dressed in his uniform. His sword and gun still intact.

"Whoa," Garth said. "Check out this hardware. Do you guys know how much this is worth?"

Alex examined the belt buckle. "Doesn't matter. It's all got to go. Sam…"

The younger Winchester dropped the thread he had found on the floor into the casket and began pouring salt on the remains, followed closely by lighter fluid. Dean pulled out a pack of matches, ready to set it all ablaze until Garth stopped him.

"Uh, I kind of feel like we should say something, all right? Don't you? Just… a little…"

Alex began whistling "Dixie." The look of disapproval Garth gave her for what was no doubt intended to be pure irony and sarcasm instead of an actual tribute only caused her to smile. Dean lit a match, said "we won," and dropped it in with the rest. Now they could all go home.

* * *

Dean had just put the last of the bags in the Impala when he got the call from Garth. Apparently they had missed something the night before. There had been another murder earlier that morning. That meant the specter was still out there.

* * *

The sheriff's body was rolled past them on a stretcher. The shotgun blast had sent blood and brain matter far enough to cover the wall behind the now bloody desk the hunters were investigating.

"Ten bones says Deputy Dog had an axe to grind with his boss," Dean said.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Garth.

Dean pointed out the green goo coating the tape dispenser on the sheriff's desk. The thought that they torched the wrong corpse was Dean's first thought, but they quickly dismissed it. The specter had attached himself to something.

"So," said Alex, "whoever has the object gets possessed right?"

Garth nodded. "Yeah, but who's got it."

"I don't know who has it, but I think I know someone that does. Stay here."

The boys watched her walk down the hall and into the interrogation room with the poor deputy that did the deed. Sam was concerned about her going in there by herself. They didn't know how long the specter's influence actually lasted. Deputy Wallace had seemed docile enough, but he couldn't be sure. He had just decided to move go in after her when she came back out. Smacking Dean on the shoulder with the back on his hand, Sam got Dean's attention and pointed him towards Alex.

"So what'd you find out?"

"Karl tackled him. When he realized what was going on, Karl'd already grabbed his gun and headed out. He said something about the hospital. Best guess is that's where he's headed."

Dean stood a bit straighter. "Than what are we waiting around here for? Let's go." The all started walking to the parking lot. "Sam, you and Garth see if you can't find out what this guy's attached himself to. Alex, you're going to the hospital with me."

* * *

The best place Sam could think of to find out about local history was from the local library. There was a librarian there that was more than willing to help them out. It was on the drive over there that Garth decided to take his chances.

"Hey, uh, Sam?" He grunted in response. "If you ever need to talk, I just want to let you know that I'm here." He chanced a look at the younger Winchester and saw the perplexed look on his face. "About anything. Your know, life, uh, Alex, you."

Sam saw where he was going with this. It was the same place that Dean seemed so insistent on visiting, except Garth didn't know all the details.

"I'm okay. Thanks."

"I mean, it just seems like there's something hanging over your heads. If you'd just…"

"Garth, not now. Let's just focus on the case alright."

He reluctantly nodded as they pulled into the parking lot.

The librarian that Sam had spoken to over the phone greeted them with a smile before asking them to follow her. He had told her what they were looking for. There was no way to know for sure, but one local legend stuck out.

"Corporal Collins of the Union shot and killed his brother, Vance, who fought for the Confederacy. Local boys." The book she held showed a picture of the young man in question. As Sam studied it, he noticed something unusual in the photograph.

"What's that?" he gestured to the necklace around the soldier wore.

"Most of the soldiers were poor farmers, so…" she showed him a close up of the photo. "… the families would give them a penny on a string. It was for good luck, and in case they ever got lost, they always had a penny for food or drink."

"A penny."

_The string on the floor_, he thought. _We need to find that penny._ He quickly thanked her for her help and signaled to Garth that it was time to leave. His phone was in his hand frantically dialing Dean the instant he was out the door.

"Dean, I know what the object is."

* * *

"Alright," Alex checked the clip in her gun to make sure it was fully loaded before slamming it back into place. "What's the plan?"

Dean looked straight ahead. "When we get there we split up. Whoever finds Deputy Karl takes him out and calls the other for back up."

"Sounds good."

The hunters climbed out of the Impala. Their paths split as soon as they entered the hospital. Alex wanted desperately to draw her gun and have it at the ready. She'd seen what the other's had done under the specter's influence, and she didn't want to take any changes. But having a loaded gun drawn in a crowded medical building was not the wisest choice one could make.

A loud commotion could be heard from down the hall as people started to move towards her. She could hear two distinctly male voices talking as she fought the tide of people flowing in the opposite direction.

Rounding the corner, Alex's heart stopped for a moment when she saw Deputy Karl aiming a rifle at a helpless man on the ground. She pushed her hesitation aside and slowly made her way towards him. Relief flooded her body when he pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

"Oops. Looks like somebody left something at home."

He lowered the rifle as he turned to her. Taking the chance, Alex reared back and hit him as hard as she could. His head snapped to the side, but he was otherwise unfazed.

"Hey, that tickled."

Alex's eyes grew wide. Even Sam and Dean had been laid out by one of her punches before. _This is not good._ Karl returned her punch in kind, sending her to linoleum laden floor. Alex shook her head to clear her vision just in time to see her assailant reaching for her.

Her feet dangled just off of the ground as he lifted her by the lapels. The only option left was to try and reason with him. "Karl, listen, I know this isn't you. It's the specter. Just tell me what the object is, and I'll make sure he leaves you alone."

"I don't think so." He leaned forward and sniffed along her neck. Turning her face away in disgust, Alex said a little prayer to whoever was listening that Dean would make his way over here soon. "Oh, the specter likes you."

The deputy hurled her away from him. A desk snapped under the force of her body slamming against it. Before she could get her bearings, Karl was on top of her holding the penny aloft in his hand.

"Here. Have a taste."

The cool metal disk was pressed into her palm. Her vision darkened as rage began to fill her body. A single mindedness filled her. Only one thing mattered. Finding Sam Winchester.

* * *

_Ring… ring… ring… This is Alex. Leave a message._

Sam threw the phone down in frustration.

"Damn it!"

He'd called Dean the moment he realized what the object the specter was using was. His brother had instantly gone in search of Alex, but only found the deputy coming back to his senses. When Dean raced to the parking lot, he found no sign of her. The Impala was still there. His best guess told him she'd jacked a car and headed off somewhere.

Dean had checked back with Sam a few moments ago. Alex wasn't answering his calls either. Fear began to grow in Sam's mind. A thousand and one things could have happened to her. No matter what happened between them, he still cared for her. He decided to call Dean again.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"No. I can't find any sign of her."

_Where are you Alex?_ "Where do you think she is?"

"I don't know."

They decided to meet back at the motel. Sam found himself hoping that her things were gone. If she'd packed a bag and headed off on her own, it meant she was okay. But if he found her things still in their place… he didn't want to think about what that could mean.

The cars came to screeching halts at nearly the same time. Sam led the charge. Dean and Garth followed close behind. Throwing the door open, he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Alex sitting on one of the beds.

"Alex? Thank God! Where the hell have you been? Why won't you answer the phone? We've been.."

Moving closer, he saw the goo slowly trickling out of her right ear. Alex's head slowly turned. She found his eyes. What he saw there chilled him to the bone. The blue of her eyes had become cold as ice. Those terrifying eyes never left his as she rose to her feet and slowly aimed her pistol at him.

"You should have looked for me in Purgatory."

Dean came to a halt behind his brother when he saw what was happening causing Garth to run into his back.

"Alex what the hell?"

"Shut up, Dean. This is between me and Sam."

"Come on, Alex." Sam raised his hands in surrender. "I know it's not you in there pulling the strings."

"No! I want answers. Why didn't you look for me, Sam? I waited for you. I spent 300 years waiting for you only to make it back and find that you were too busy playing house with some whore in Texas to bother with me."

Of all the words he imagined coming out of her mouth, those were not it. Her confession so amazed him that he couldn't even think about rebutting her claim about Amelia. "300 years?" He looked to Dean for answers.

"Don't look at him! Look at me!" He turned back around. "Why didn't you look for me?"

"Alex, I… What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? I am. There was no way I could have known what was happening to you." She just shook her head and looked away. "I've made mistakes." Her eyes flashed back to his.

"Mistakes?" She laughed maniacally. "Let's relive some of Sammy's greatest hits shall we?" Alex stared to take small steps towards him as she spoke. "Let's start with the little werewolf bitch that you slept with. Madison was it? How about sneaking off with Ruby, or lying to me about drinking demon blood?"

"I did that to try and save y-"

"I don't care!"

Sam took advantage of her close proximity and lunged. Grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the gun, he jerked it to the side before punching the possessed woman in the jaw. It stopped her only for a moment before she lunged at him.

The screams from her delicate throat were more like that of a wild animal than a woman scorned. Her strength was bolstered by the specter. Sam soon found himself pinned underneath her, a gun pointed at his face.

He closed his eyes and prepared for the shot, but it never came. Opening his eyes, he found Dean pulling her away as Garth tried to relieve her of her weapon. She kicked him aside. Dean managed to get her into a strong enough grip to throw her across the room, landing on the bed. He took advantage of her stunned state and kicked the gun from her hand, the penny falling with it.

They all watched her for a moment as she slowly blinked and came back to herself. Sitting up, Alex looked around the room as if it was the first time she had seen it in days. Her eyes met Sam's as he wiped the blood from his nose and pulled himself to his feet. Confused she asked, "What happened?"

* * *

It had taken Garth nearly two hours to melt down the penny, but it was finally gone.

"Thanks again for your help," said Alex. "I hate to say it, but we probably couldn't have done it without you." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out Bobby's old hat and handed it to him.

Garth looked back and forth between her and the offered hat for a moment. "Alex, are you sure?"

She smiled and placed the hat on his head. "Yeah. You earned it."

"Thanks, Alex. Here." He handed her Bobby's journal. "I think Bobby'd want you to have this."

Tears came to her eyes as she stared down at the warn leather volume in front of her. There were no words to truly express how much Garth giving her that journal meant to her, so instead she just pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." As they pulled away, Garth lowered his voice so the brother's on the other side of the room couldn't hear him. "Don't give up on Sam okay? You should have seen him when we couldn't find you. There's still love in there."

Alex turned from the lanky hunter in front of her and looked to Sam. His eyes met hers in a pained expression. He and Dean had obviously been discussing something in much the same way she and Garth had. Most of what happened while the specter was in control was a blur to her, but she knew what she had told him. The cat was out of the bag now. It was time for them to have a talk.

Dean patted his little brother on the shoulder before turning to you. "Come on, Garth. I'll walk you to your car." He gave her a look that clearly said he was going to take his time coming back. It was now or never.

The moment the door shut, everything Alex wanted to say to Sam left her mind. They just stood there watching each other, each one waiting for the other to start.

Alex walked towards the bed and took a seat. "So, I guess we both have some questions."

"I don't know where to start."

"Okay," Alex nodded. "Why didn't you look for me?"

Sam gave a loud exhale as he ran his fingers through is hair in an attempt to organize his thoughts. "I did for a while."

"The why did you stop?"

When Sam looked over at her, he could see just how much she had been torturing herself with different scenarios in the weeks since her return. He was going to have to be very careful how he proceeded.

"When I got my soul back things were just… different. I don't know how to explain it. I knew I wanted to find you, but I didn't know how. Cas said you weren't in Heaven. So my next thought was that you were in Hell. The thought of you being there because of me, it tore me up inside. We tried to find a way to get you out but…"

"But I wasn't there," she finished for him.

Sam nodded. "There was no sign of you anywhere. We didn't know what happened to you so I guess I just… gave up. Then when Dean disappeared I… I just walked away."

The next words out of Alex's mouth left a bitter taste behind. It was not a topic she was looking forward to discussing. "And that's when you met Amelia." Sam's face fell. "I heard you and Dean talking about her." The air grew thick with tension. Sam looked down between his feet as he rested his arms on his knees while he tried to process everything.

Alex had known all along and said nothing. Suddenly all of the little comments she'd been making made sense to him. "Wait… do you think she is why I stopped looking for you?" It was Alex's turn to look away as she shrugged. "Alex, I wanted to find you. I just didn't know how. Not looking for you had nothing to do with her. If there had been even a rumor about you I would have followed it, but there was nothing. You were just… gone."

"And now I'm back." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Where does that leave us now?"

Sam took a slow uneasy breath before answering.

"I don't know." The look on Alex's face begged him to go on. "Part of me wants to just pick up where we left off, but..."

"But?"

"But I love Amelia." Sam rose to his feet and began pacing the room. "This is so messed up." He turned and looked at the woman before him. "I look at you, and I remember everything that happened, what we meant to each other, and I want that back."

Hope shone in Alex's eyes. "So do I."

"But it's not that simple." The hope quickly vanished. "I… I love Amelia. I look at you and I want you, but every time I let myself think that we could go back to that I remember her and I feel guilty."

"So…" Alex paused to compose herself, "you want to be with her."

"I guess. I… I don't know."

Alex suddenly rose to her feet in anger.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Alex, it's not that simple."

"Of course it is Sam. Either you want to be with her or you want to be with me. It's a choice. And to be perfectly honest I'm surprised there is even one to make."

"Why?"

"Because we're soulmates, Sam. Does the time we spent together in Heaven mean nothing?"

All of the muscles in his face went slack. "We… we were in Heaven?"

"You mean, you… you don't remember?" Sam shook his head. Everything started to snap into place. Her legs suddenly felt weak beneath her and she sat back down. Dean had told her that he never mentioned it, but she had always assumed that it was just too painful. "That explains everything."

"What does?"

The tears that she had kept at bay for so long finally broke free to cascade down her cheeks.

"We shared a Heaven, Sam. It was perfect. We were happy. There was no reason we shouldn't be."

As Alex went on to describe the paradise they had shared, Sam struggled to remember even the slightest detail. There was nothing. When he looked back, all he could remember was the pain of the demons ripping into him.

"I don't remember any of that."

Alex chuckled bitterly. "Do you remember us giving it up to save your brother? We willingly went to Hell together because we thought it would let Dean have his happily ever after with Lisa. We were willing to go through endless torture forever as long as we were together. When that angel tried to take you without me, you wouldn't let go. That's when…" a realization of what that moment had been finally dawned on her. "Oh God…"

"What? Alex, what is it?"

"Your soul." She looked at him in wide eyed terror. "I'm the reason you didn't have a soul." She told him about their final moments in Hell, how his soul had stayed to protect her when his body was ripped through to the other side. By the time she was done, the hysteria had reached critical mass.

Unable to control himself, Sam pulled her into his strong arms and began to rock her as the sobs racked her body. He whispered soothing words and ran his fingers along her scalp in the way he remembered had always calmed her.

Peace began to seep into her soul as she let herself be overtaken by his warmth, his scent. She had craved his touch for so long. It was the balm her savaged soul needed. She pulled away from him and gazed into the hazel eyes she had missed so much. Her eyes flicked from his eyes to his lips for a moment before she joined her lips to his.

For a moment, it seemed as if everything was going to be perfect. Then Sam pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I…"

"You still want to be with her." She didn't wait for him to respond before turning and walking towards the door. "I'm gunna go get some air."

* * *

Dean wasn't sure how long he should wait for them to get done talking. For a moment he debated just heading down the street to the bar and finding some chick to follow home for the night until he saw Alex walking out of the room with watery eyes.

"Hey." He jogged towards her, taking a hold of her arm when he finally reached her. "Hey what happened?"

"It doesn't matter Dean. I'm gunna go have a drink. Don't wait up."

He watched her walk away before turning to go find his brother.

* * *

A thousand and one thoughts raced through her brain as she moved towards the bar. All of them revolved around Sam. _So much for being soulmates,_ she thought. The more she thought about everything, the farther away she wanted to get.

Her eyes came to rest on the sexy little Ducati she'd seen a few days before. Looking through the barroom window, she saw the owner playing pool. A plan quickly formed in her mind. Alex squared her shoulders and walked into the bar.

* * *

Sam told his brother everything about the conversation with Alex. Dean had flat out asked him who he wanted, and Sam couldn't answer. There was too much unresolved with Amelia for him to be able to move forward with Alex, no matter how much he might want to.

When it became clear that she wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon, they'd left to grab a bite to eat from the dinner down the street. They now had three containers of food, one for Alex when she returned, with them as the pulled back up to the door.

Dean noticed the bike parked next to the Impala. He gave it an appraising once over before opening the door for Sam. Sam walked in with the food and stopped dead in his tracks.

Alex moved around the room in silence gathering her things and putting them into her bag.

"Alex?" She paused for a moment and looked up at him before returning to what she was doing.

Dean stepped into the room. "Why are you packing?"

"I think it's best if I take off for a while."

"What? Why?" Sam asked.

"I think we both know that things aren't going to get better between us anytime soon, Sam."

"We'll figure it out."

"I already figured out what I want, Sam. Have you?"

She didn't have to say Amelia's name. Sam already knew what she was referring to. She took his silence as his answer. Soon all of her things where in the bag.

"Where are you headed? Dean asked.

"I think I'm gunna head up north for a while. Say good-bye to Bobby."

Dean took hold of her bag and carried it outside for her. He chuckled when she walked over to the bike he had been appreciating earlier.

"How'd you end up with that?"

"Won it off of some idiot down at the bar."

He secured her bag to the back of the bike. "Come here." He gave her a quick hug. "Take care of yourself."

"I will."

Alex promised to keep in touch. Just before she kicked off on the bike, she looked up at the motel room window and saw Sam watching her. Her gut twisted for a moment._ This is the right thing to do. I know it is._ With one final watery glance, the bike roared to life as she set off for Sioux Falls.

**What do you think of Sam and Alex's talk? How long do you think Alex will be gone? Reviewers will get a special preview of the next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 7

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 7_

Dean watched silently as Alex began to back the motorcycle out of it's spot before revving the engine and driving away. The pleasant smile he'd put on just for her vanished as soon as she began to fade into the distance. Once she was gone, he turned and walked back into the motel room to confront his brother.

He found his brother staring out the window, a solemn expression on his face.

"What the hell happened? I leave you guys alone for ten minutes and suddenly Alex is hitting the road. What did you say to her?"

"Nothing."

"Really, Sam?" Dean didn't believe him for a second. "If it was nothing why did she leave?"

He couldn't answer that question. All he could think about was what she had said to him.

"Was it really 300 years?"

Dean was surprised by his brother's question. "What?"

"Were you guys really in Purgatory for 300 years?"

This was a topic Dean had hoped never to discuss. It was kind of like talking about his time in Hell. Everybody knew that it happened, but nobody was going to talk about it. That's what he wanted Purgatory to be like. Apparently he was not going to be that lucky.

Taking a seat on one of the beds, Dean ran his hand down his face in an attempt to prepare himself to relieve one of his many waking nightmares. "I was only there for part of it."

"Well how long were you there?"

Dean rubbed his hands together. "About a hundred years." He could see the brokenness beginning to take hold when he looked up at his younger brother. Sam looked to be on the verge of tears. "She'd already been there for a long time when I showed up."

Sam brought a hand up to his face and rubbed his jaw as he fought to regain control of his emotions. "No wonder she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, Sam. She's just pissed. She was off fighting for her life while you moved on to another girl. How would you feel if you were her?"

"If what she told me was true, I'd never want to speak to me again."

That caught Dean by surprise. "What did she tell you?"

Sam sat down on the other bed and began to recount his conversation with Alex. The part that he had the most questions about was where they were supposedly in Heaven together. _How was that even possible?_

"She told me about that."

Sam was shocked. "She did?"

"Yeah. It sounded like you guys were really happy." Sam looked away. "Just answer one question for me. If you guys are soul-mates or whatever, why don't you guys just start over?"

There it was. The crux of the entire situation. As soon as the question left Dean's mouth, Sam knew that his next answer was most likely the reason Alex wasn't' with them know.

"Because I don't know if I'm in love with her anymore."

* * *

The feeling of being on the open road by herself was soothing to Alex's soul. She'd forgotten how peaceful it felt to just jump on a bike and ride. No music. No conversation. Just the sound of the wind and her own private thoughts. It was good.

Off in the distance, she could see the Sioux Falls city limits sign. A small feeling of trepidation settled in her gut as she neared what was left of Bobby's house. She wasn't sure what to expect. The boys had never gone back after Bobby's death. There was no point. So Dean hadn't had much detail to give her. She had tried to prepare herself for the worst, but what she found almost hurt more than anything her imagination could have conjured up.

The yard looked exactly like it had the last time she'd seen it. Tons of old junkers piled on top of each other for a good quarter mile. It was so familiar that she half way expected to arrive at the house and see Bobby walk out onto the front porch to great her. Instead she found a charred ruin at the end of the long driveway.

Alex stopped the bike several yards off and just stared at it in shock. She jerked the helmet form her head as if the visor was causing her to see things, but the lack of tinted fiberglass did nothing to erase the horror before her eyes. She dropped the kickstand and grabbed her bag before she slowly began walking towards what was left of the place she had once called home.

The second story was completely gone. What little remained of the ground floor was merely ashen pillars and a few porch stairs. She gently placed her foot on the first step and watched it crumble underneath her foot.

Each piece that fell away broke off a small piece of the wall that she had formed around her heart. This was where Bobby had first brought her when he took her under his wing. It had taken her years to realize just how important he was to her. They may not have been blood, but they were family. He had been her father in every way that counted.

Desperate for something to hold on to, Alex dug threw her bag and pulled out the journal that Garth had given her, Bobby's journal. She dropped the bag and used it as a seat on the dusty ground. She gingerly opened the inside cover and began flipping through the well-worn pages. Her fingers graced the scribbled writing with a tenderness most would reserve for a newborn child. She didn't even realize she was crying until the first teardrop fell onto the page.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I should have been there." She looked around at the destruction around her. "I could have stopped all of this from happening, but I wasn't there. I'm so sorry, Daddy."

Alex wasn't sure how long she just sat there crying. It was the first time she'd cried since hearing Sam's confession the night she was supposed to be taking a shower. She cried for the father she had lost. She cried at the memory of the painful tortures of Hell and the unrelenting anguish of Purgatory. But most of all she cried for everything she could of had. Thoughts of what if and what could have been filled her racing mind as the contemplated her past and looked towards the future.

She'd spent centuries dreaming of the home she'd left behind only to return to find that not only had everything changed, but that home no longer existed. The man she loved more than anything no longer seemed to want her. Her soul ached for him to hold her, but he seemed to only feel guilty for not finding her. The longing that she had once seen in his eyes when he looked at her had been replaced with sorrowful pity.

Once Alex had cried all of the tears she had to shed, she closed Bobby's journal and said goodbye to the life she had once known. Those days were over. It was time to forge a new path. She didn't know where it was headed. Her only hope was that there would be some small happiness waiting for her at the end of the road.

* * *

The vibration on the cushion next to him drew Dean's attention. Looking over, he found his phone ringing. One look at the caller ID had a small smile forming on his face.

"Hey Alex."

The sound of her name instantly caught Sam's attention.

"Is she okay?"

Dean waived him off as he listened to the woman on the other end of the line.

"Okay, yeah. Take care of yourself you hear? Bye."

Dean hung up the phone and propped his feet back up on the table as if nothing had happened. Sam quickly became agitated as his brother continued to ignore him.

"Dean?"

"What?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "What did she say?"

"Nothing much. She went by Bobby's. There wasn't much left so she's staying at a hotel in town for a couple of days."

"And?"

"And what Sam?"

"And what is she gunna do after that, Dean?" Sam could not understand why his brother was so nonchalant about the whole thing. "When is she coming back? Is she going out on a hunt first? Does she want us to come meet her there? What's going on?"

Dean turned his body completely so that he would be fully facing his brother. "You know, for somebody who isn't sure if he loves her anymore you sure do ask a lot of questions. Why is that Sam?"

He slumped back in his chair.

"I don't know."

* * *

News articles began popping up on the internet about a spree of children disappearing down in Texas. All of the disappearances were happening in the same quarter mile radius near a popular park for families with young children. Alex had arrived two days ago and started scouting the place.

Nothing unusual had really jumped out at her. She'd spent the first day visiting the families of the missing children. They'd all said the same thing. They'd looked away from their playing child for just a moment only to look up and see them disappearing into the trees. Once they followed them into the woods, they were gone.

The lore about woodland creatures that liked to take kids was limited. She needed more to go on, so she went to the park. There were children running and laughing everywhere. It brought a smile to her face as she lost herself in a memory.

* * *

_It was one of the rare times that Sam and Alex got a few days to themselves. Dean had decided to go off on a hunt with Bobby for a few days. That meant that they had the house all to themselves. They spent their days like any normal couple would, waking to the other's company before going about the business of getting ready._

_Today found them in town walking through the local park hand in hand. It was the little moments like these that Alex loved so much. They were so rare. Their lives were filled with monsters and mayhem not hand holding and kisses._

_Alex leaned her head on Sam's shoulder as they sat on a bench watching a group of children running and playing as she sighed in contentment. An idea suddenly came to her._

"_Sam?"_

"_Humm." He placed a tender kiss to the top of her head._

"_Do you think we'll ever get to just sit here and watch our kids play like that?"_

_Sam was taken aback for a moment. The future wasn't something they talked about often. It was a dangerous thing to do with lives like theirs. But as he thought about it, a small smile began to form on his face. He could see a little hazel eyed girl chasing after a little boy with auburn hair._

"_Yeah," he said. "I think we will."_

* * *

Alex shook her head to clear the vision away before wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye. That's when she noticed the white rabbit slowly moving towards the children. It was something that most people wouldn't notice. Seeing a rabbit in the park was not something unusual. What caught her attention was its behavior.

Normally the small creature would skitter away the moment a child moved towards it. This one seemed to be stopping and making sure that one of the children was following it. It would hop a few feet and then stop to look back at the little girl. As soon as she started moving towards it, it hopped a few more feet. Alex's eyes suddenly grew wide. It was taking the child towards the trees.

She was careful not to alarm anyone a she slowly moved towards a break in the trees a yard or so away from where the bunny was headed. She broke the tree line a few moments after the child disappeared into the wooded area, but she was too late. The child was already gone.

The sound of a twig snapping drew her attention. Her eyes darted in the direction the noise came from and could just make out a large hulking figure stalking deeper into the woods. Suddenly feeling like she was out of her depth, she called the boys for a little help with her research.

* * *

Sam's first instinct when he heard that Alex was off on a hunt by herself was to race off after her. Then Dean reminded him that she had hunted on her own for years before they met. So instead he settled down and began helping her in the only way he could, research.

Six hours and two cups of coffee later, Sam had finally found the answer. He hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone to call her. His fingers lingered over the call button for a moment. _Does she even want to talk to me?_ Pushing his doubts aside, he completed the call. The phone rang a few times before her voice filled his ears.

"Sam?"

"Hey, Alex. Uh… I… I, uh, found what you were looking for."

He could hear her interest peak in the tone of her voice. "What've you got?"

"You're hunting a puca."

"A puca? Isn't that some sort of Japanese thing?"

"Celtic actually. It's found predominantly in Ireland. Prefers wooded areas and has the ability to transform itself into black horses, goats, and rabbits."

"That explains the bunny. How do I kill it?"

Sam sighed. "That's where things get interesting. The only bit of lore I can find on it says that it can be killed with a blade of pure stone."

Alex let out a groan. "Yeah that does make it interesting."

There was a moment of tense silence, neither knowing what to say to the other but not wanting to end the call.

"It's good to hear your voice, Sam."

He smiled. "Yeah, it's good to hear yours too. Do you need any help taking this thing down?"

She didn't miss the implication his question made. _Yes!_ Her mind screamed. She wanted nothing more than to take his offer and beg him to come help her, but her heart wasn't ready for that yet.

"No thanks. I think I can handle it."

"Okay." There was another long silence. "Alex?"

"Yeah."

"When are you coming home?"

Tears threatened to fall. Alex mentally cursed herself for becoming so emotional yet again over him. "I don't know."

Her voice was so faint that Sam could barely hear her, but he was fairly certain there was a slight hitch to it.

"Hey, you okay?"

Alex wiped her eyes. "Yeah. I'm good. Just tired. I'm gunna head to bed and then go take this thing out tomorrow."

"Okay. Take care of yourself okay?"

"You too."

He held the phone to his ear until he heard the click before pulling it away only to continue staring at if for a while. There had been unmistakable sadness in her voice before she hung up. He sat down the phone with a sigh. His head was spinning. Ever since Alex magically reappeared he hadn't been able to think straight.

Everything had been wonderful with Amelia. It was the life he had always wanted and never thought he could have. They took care of each other. He loved her, and she loved him. Then he'd gotten that damned phone call and turned his world upside down.

Alex had been his whole world, and then suddenly she wasn't. He couldn't really explain it. It was like looking at her through frosted glass that was once crystal clear. A part of him still wanted to be with her, but something was missing. Until he could figure out what that something was, there would be no moving forward for any of them.

* * *

The light of the early morning sun was just beginning to peak through the trees as Alex approached the mouth of the cave. Search teams had been all over the area, but she could not find any records of them searching the opening that lead to a series of underground caves. It was the only logical place for the puca to be hiding.

As she descended farther and farther into the darkness, she could hear the sounds of children whimpering and crying. Her grip tightened around the stone knife she had made earlier. The sound grew louder as she came closer.

Alex moved around a corner and found several small children huddled together in a cage.

"Shh. Shh," she hushed. "I'm going to get you out okay."

Alex picked the lock as quickly as she could. The instant the cage door popped open she began ushering the children towards the exit. She didn't know how long the puca would be gone, so she had to move quickly.

The question about how long it would be away was quickly answered when Alex heard a monstrous growl behind her. She turned ever so slowly as she prepared for a fight. The beam from her flashlight did not land of the soft fluffy bunny rabbit she had seen luring the children away. What she saw was a monstrous beast that stood nearly seven feet tall. It's red eyes glowed evilly as it took her in.

"They are mine," it said, gesturing to the children that had frozen in fear.

Her eyes drifted to the children.

"Run!" They didn't move. "Go! I'll be right behind you."

A small boy no older than 6 or 7 started to move towards the exit. The others soon followed. Alex released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. With the children gone, she could focus on destroying the creature in front of her.

No sooner had she turned her attention back to it than the puca lunged for her. She dove out of the way of it's razor sharp claws and slashed wildly at its arm. It gave a sharp hiss of pain as the stone blade cut through it's blackened flesh.

It spun and came for her again. This time Alex was ready. Just before it reached her, Alex fell to her knees and thrust the dagger upward into it's chest. It's death cry echoed through the cave as the creature collapsed on top of Alex.

Her breath rushed out in a huff under the weight of the animal. She tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. Her head thumped onto the ground as a frustrated groan left her lips.

* * *

Alex wasn't sure where she was headed, but now that the puca was taken care of it was time to get out of town. She had just put the last of her things in her bag when she heard him speak

"Hello love."

Alex closed her eyes at the sound of the accented voice behind her. "What do you want Crowley?"

"That's it?" the demon asked. Alex rolled her eyes in frustration as she turned to face him. "Oh come now. Surely after all this time you must be at least a little happy to see me."

"The day I'm happy to see you is the day angels stop being assholes." He chuckled. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to be hitting the road. So if you wouldn't mind." She turned her back to him and grabbed her bag, hoping that the silence would speak for her. When he didn't leave, she pushed past him and headed for the door.

"Off to go see the Moose and his new pet in the next town over?" She paused with her hand on the door.

She turned and looked at him. "What did you say?"

"Oh didn't you know? Sam's just down the way a bit making nice with the little spitfire he replaced you with." Crowley knew exactly what his words were doing to her. He'd been looking forward to this moment for ages. "It must be difficult to have him as a soulmate when you're no longer his."

That didn't make any sense. Soul mates weren't that easily separated. They were two halves of a whole, each possessing a piece of the other's soul. What Crowley was suggesting was impossible.

Alex's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

A little smile formed on his face. "I'm talking about the fact that the piece of your soul that holds Sam to you is gone." Her eyes grew wide. "Oh yes, I have it." He began to explain. "Torture's come a long way since I took over. You see, I've found a way to remove little pieces of a person's soul." Alex turned to face him. "When dear little Sammy's soul refused to be separated from you, the part that tied him to you just… lit up. So, I had one of my boys perform a little surgery. Now your soul is tied to his, but his soul however…. Well, I think you get the picture."

_No,_ Alex thought. _No this can't be happening._ The thought was completely absurd. How could she possibly be Sam's soul mate without also being his in return?

"I don't believe you."

"Oh? Well then, how about your magic? Ever wonder where it went?" Her eyes snapped to him. "Oh yes, I know. I know that underneath that big scary title of yours, you're all bark and no bite."

"Where is my magic?"

"Oh it's safely tucked away somewhere safe, right next to that little piece of Sam's soul."

Alex sincerely wished that she could read the demon's mind to know if he was lying. She wanted him to be lying, but part of her knew, deep down, that he was right.

"Get out."

"So soon? You haven't even heard my offer yet."

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus."

He began to hiss in pain. "Alright I'll go. For now. Just know that while you're here fighting with me, Sam's off sowing his wild oats in another bird's field." She shut her eyes against his words as he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Opening her eyes, she began to shake as what Crowley said began to sink in. Not only was her magic really and truly gone, but Sam was missing part of his soul. Sinking to the ground, Alex let the tears she thought she was done shedding for the younger Winchester began to flow. Without all of the pieces of his soul, Alex feared that he was lost to her forever.

**Was Crowley lying? If not, can Alex convince him to return the pieces of soul he too? Reviewers will get a special preview of the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 8

This chapter is dedicated to theblkdahlia666. Thanks for giving me the motivation to keep writing.

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 8_

Speaking to Alex had been both a relief and a source of frustration for Sam. Hearing her voice meant she was okay. She was still alive somewhere making trouble for anything that went bump in the night. That thought brought a smile to his face, and that smile brought more guilt.

Sam had to figure out what he really felt for Alex. The only way to do that would be to see Amelia again. He spent a few days debating what to do before packing a bag and setting out for the little Texas town he thought he'd left behind for good, and the woman he knew for sure he loved.

* * *

Plaza Towers Elementary was one of the nicest elementary schools Alex had ever seen. It was leaps and bounds ahead of the dumps she had gone to when she was hopping from home to home. Sadly the shiny new building had attracted more than just students and teachers.

The media had been pretty silent about the random happenings in and around the school, but Alex still managed to see police reports about the teachers being found assaulting students in one corner of the facility while teaching class at the other. Local police didn't know what to think of it so no charges had been brought. A few teachers still ended up resigning after a few parent groups threatened to take out a lawsuit against the school district.

Due to the assaults, security had become a lot tighter around the school making it much harder for Alex to investigate. Hence the hairnet she found herself wearing while scooping mashed potatoes onto lunch trays and trying to watch for anything unusual. This was going to get boring fast.

* * *

Turning the corner into the little community made his heart race. Sam hadn't planned on seeing this place again, but he was happy he came the moment the little house came into view. He pulled into the driveway and brought the car to a complete stop before shifting into park. His grip on the steering wheel suddenly tightened into a white-knuckled vice.

For a moment, Sam just stood staring at the door seriously considered turning the car around and driving back to the motel. He still had a key, but he didn't feel he had the right to use it anymore. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _I have to do this._ He raised his hand to knock once more when the door suddenly opened.

Amelia stood there completely dumbfounded. "Sam?"

He gave her a nervous smile. "Yeah. It's me."

"What are you doing here?" She wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture as she took in the man in front of her.

"I – I wanted to see you."

She just nodded. "Well, you've seen me. Now what?"

Sam sighed as he ran a hand through is hair. He couldn't say that he was horribly surprised by her reaction. "I know I didn't exactly give you an explanation for leaving, but..." She cut him off.

"Didn't exactly give me and explanation? Sam, you didn't give me anything. You left in the middle of the night and left me a stupid note saying that you got a phone call and had to leave for a few days. That was months ago. I didn't know where you were or if you were even alive."

Her ranting was starting to attract attention. Sam looked around uncomfortably for a moment. Amelia, noticing the unwanted attention they were drawing.

"Look," said Sam. "Can't I just… come inside for a minute while we talk about this?"

Reluctantly, Amelia stepped aside and let Sam enter the home they had once shared.

* * *

Sam gratefully took the beer she offered him as he sat pensively on the couch. "Thanks." He took a sip from the bottle and tried to gather his thoughts.

Amelia took a seat of the opposite side of the couch and turned to face him. She drew her knees up until her feet were resting on the cushion in front of her, forming a wall between her and the man in front of her. The silence seemed to stretch on forever as she studied his face. He never turned to look at her. He just kept sipping his beer and looking down at his feet.

"So," Amelia finally said when she had her fill of the silence, "are we going to talk about why you left or are we going to just sit here in silence all day?"

Sam chuckled slightly, the corner of his mouth turning upward as he glanced over at her. "Yeah, I guess we should probably talk about it."

"Well, I'm listening."

Taking a moment to amass his strength, Sam turned towards Amelia and began telling her about the phone call from his brother that changed everything. He had once told her about losing Dean and Alex's disappearance. Something about the way he described everything to her made her believe that Dean had been a soldier that never made it home. She was shocked to hear that Dean had magically returned, but was even more surprised when Sam told her that Alex had been with him.

"I didn't know she was there," said Sam as he once again found himself looking of into the distance and then down at his folded hands. "When I got the call from someone claiming to be Dean, I thought it was a hoax. I'd planned on just going up there and checking it out for a few days before coming home. Then I saw him. I suddenly had my brother back, and then…"

"And then Alex walked in the door." Sam nodded. He could not trust his voice to keep from breaking under the emotion of the memory. "And now what? You're… going back to her?" Sam shook his head again.

"Things are different now, Amelia. I gave up on her." He met her gaze. "I found you. I love you, Amelia. That's why I came back here. I couldn't just walk away without…"

She cut him off. "Without saying goodbye."

"No it's not that. It's just…" She held up a hand to stop him.

"Sam, I remember all the stories you told me about her. When we first met and I asked you about the woman that had left you so broken, I saw how much you missed her. Now she's back. That doesn't leave a place for me anymore."

Sam moved towards her and took her hand in both of his. "Amelia that's not it at all. I love you."

"I know you do, Sam. I love you too. The question is, do you still love her?" He swallowed thickly and he pondered her words. She asked him again. "Do you love her?"

"I don't know." She gave him a questioning look that caused him to throw himself back against the cushions in frustration. "I guess I do. I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

He wasn't sure how to explain what he felt to her. How could he explain something that he didn't completely understand himself? He started rambling as he tried to process his thoughts. He spoke of remembering being terrified of being separated from her and feeling like he needed her there to survive. Now when he looks at her, he still feels for her. It's just not the same anymore.

"What about when you look at me?" Amelia asked. "Do you feel that way when you look at me?" There was a pause that spoke louder than any words ever could. She began to nod. "Okay then."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay, Sam."

"I-I don't understand."

"You may not know what you feel for Alex anymore, but you know that you don't feel for me the way you did for her. That's all there is to it."

"But.."

"No, Sam. No buts. When we started this, I knew what I was getting into." She chuckled. "Okay maybe not all of it. I don't know what it is you actually do or how you ended up here, but I knew that I was playing second fiddle to a memory. Now she's not just a memory anymore. I get it."

There was no malice in her voice as she spoke. Amelia truly did understand. A love like the one Sam had once described to her only comes along once in a lifetime if you're lucky. There was no way she would ask someone to give that up.

"But I chose you," Sam said. "Alex left and I didn't go after her. I came back for you."

She gave him a sad smile. "I know you Sam. You may think you're choosing me, but I'll always come second to her. The minute she needs you you'll be gone. That's just the way it is. I'm not upset, Sam. Really. I'm just not sure I could watch you walk away again when she calls."

Sam watched in complete befuddlement as she turned and walked away. Everything she said made since. There was just one thing he wasn't sure about. Would she ever actually need him again?

* * *

School food was even worse now than when she was a kid, if that's even possible. She wasn't sure what she was trying to pass off as food to those kids. All she knew was that there was no way in hell she was going to eat it.

Once all the kids had been fed and were back in class, Alex set off to investigate the building. The EMF hadn't gone off once as she worked her way through the building. Not even when there had been another incident. It was frustrating to say the least.

Lucky for her, there had been a security camera in the area this time. She waited until dark and used her key to gain entrance to the building. Alex took special care to avoid the cameras as she made her way to the room that held the monitors. It was going on three hours of sorting through footage. Then she found it.

One of the janitors was going after a child. Just as he turned the corner to follow the boy, he looked back in the direction of the camera and his eyes flashed. Alex paused the footage and sat up straight. _Shifter,_ she thought. _I'm gunna need some help with this one._

* * *

The stress of everything was starting to get to Sam. His muscles were so tight that he could barely turn his head. He rubbed at the back of his neck in search of relief as he thought about his conversation with Amelia. He'd come here to get some clarity. Instead he found himself in need of even more answers.

The two of them had spent a fair amount of time together over the last few days. She said she was willing to try but, he could tell that she was keeping him at arm's length. He couldn't blame her, not after how he'd left. He just hoped that they could make a final go of things.

The sound of knocking drew him from his thoughts. He ran his hands through his disheveled hair as he made his way to the door. He jerked back in shock when he saw who was standing outside.

"Dean," he said as he opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you too, Sammy." He gestured to the Impala parked in the lot behind him. "Now come on. Get your things. We've gotta hit the road."

"What? No. Dean, I'm not going anywhere." Sam really shouldn't have been that surprised that his brother tracked him down. There wasn't much either of them could hide from the other. What caught him off guard was that Dean had just assumed he was leaving. He didn't have a reason to. "I'm trying to get my life back. Whatever it is you can call Alex. I'm sure the two of you can take care of it together."

"You see that's the problem, Sam. The issue is Alex."

Sam's face fell. "What?"

His heart stuttered in it's rhythm at the thought of her being in trouble. It scared him more than he thought it would.

"She called. She's hunting a shifter that's going after kids in Oklahoma and she needs our help. If we hit the road now we can be there by 3. Come on."

It took Dean a moment to realize that Sam wasn't following him. He turned to tell him to get the led out and found his younger brother standing in the motel room doorway scowling. He could practically see the tempest raging in his mind.

Sam could feel himself being torn. He wanted to fix things with Amelia and live a normal life, but the instant Dean had said Alex needed him he felt the urge to drop everything and run to her. In that instant Sam knew the answer to the question Amelia had asked him. He would always come running when she called. There may not be anything between them anymore, but he could never turn his back on her.

* * *

He knocked on the door with a heavy heart while Dean waited for him at the curb. Amelia answered the door, took one look at Sam and knew why he was there.

"You're leaving again." It wasn't a question. Just an observation.

He nodded. "Alex needs our help. I should be back in a few days."

The moment she heard her name, Amelia knew that their time together was over for good.

"No you won't Sam." He looked confused. "I don't want you to come back. You owe it to the both of you to see what happens." He started to interject, but the shake of her head told him there was no point. "You owe it to yourself to see where it goes. She'll forgive you Sam. If she loves you the way I think she does, she will. Just give it some time."

He just clenched his jaw and nodded. Without ever voicing it, she had discovered his deepest fear when it came to his relationship with Alex. A fear he hadn't even wanted to admit to himself. It was that fear that had been holding him back all along.

Sam gave her a tight smile. "Take care of yourself okay?"

Amelia did her best to smile and keep herself together and she pulled him into a hug. "I will." The tears were barely contained as she watched him walk to the car and the man she assumed was his brother. She smiled brightly and waived when he turned to her one last time. He gave her a small waive before getting into the car and disappearing from her life forever.

* * *

"Son of a bitch," Dean said as he struggled to see through the torrential rain and hail pummeling his baby. "We've got to pull in somewhere. I can't drive in this."

They could just barely make out the light of the inn sign up ahead. They quickly exited and pulled into the parking lot. They had just dashed into the office when the tornado sirens began to sound. The man behind the counter quickly motioned them into the back to take shelter.

Ten minutes later they came out of hiding and turned on the news. There was a wide path of destruction only a few miles away in Moore. An EF5 tornado had cut a path through the heart of the town. Sam quickly grabbed his phone and tried to call Alex, but nothing would go through. He tried to text her. Still nothing. There was no way to get through to anyone.

"It took out the cell towers," he said as he walked back towards his brother and the manager watching the television. He watched the color drain from his brother's face as he watched the screen.

The newscaster was talking over live footage of what had once been a school. Early reports said that all of the students and faculty were still trapped inside. No word yet on casualties. The name on the screen seemed familiar, but Sam couldn't place it.

Dean grabbed Sam's collar and moved towards the door. "We gotta go."

Sam followed. "Dean's what going on?" he asked in confusion.

"That school," Dean began.

Sam nodded as he got into the passenger side of the Impala. "Yeah."

"That's where we were supposed to meet Alex."

**Thoughts? Feedback?  
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	10. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: This chapter will contain descriptions of storm damage and aftermath that is inspired by actual events. This is drawn from my own life and is in no way meant to be of disrespect to any who have had their lives touched in a similar way. If this topic is offensive to you, please skip ahead to the next chapter._

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 9_

Dean had called to say they'd be there around three. _Good. The school can have a chance to clear out before we go after the shifter_. Alex was double checking all of her weapons. The majority would stay in the trunk until the boys arrived, but the silver blade was going to stay on her at all times. She didn't want to be caught empty handed if anything went wrong.

The closer it got to three, the darker the sky grew. It had been raining buckets all day. The hail however was new. _Oh Dean's not going to be happy if this dents Baby._ Driving in these conditions was not the best idea. Alex had just reached for her phone to call and make sure they were off the road when a high whining noise reached her ears.

It took her a moment to identify the sound, but when she saw a few of the parents that had arrived early sprint into the building she knew it wasn't good. Opening her door to follow them, she looked up and could just make out the dark mass of a large tornado heading towards her.

Alex sprinted to the door and quickly joined in helping to make sure that all of the kids where in a relatively safe place. If that twister was as big as it looked, there may not be much they could do. But that wasn't going to stop her from trying. She had just finished shuffling another batch of kids into the bathroom when she looked up and saw herself dragging a small girl to the opposite side of the hall.

Her blood boiled. The shifter had never been this bold before, but with all of the ciaos surrounding them, blending in would not be difficult. Alex steeled her nerves and gave chase to the monster.

She could hear the little girl crying at the other end of the corridor as the wind began to pick up outside.

"Hey, doucebag," she called. The shifter suddenly looked up at her with her own eyes. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

It gave a sinister sneer as it turned away from the child. "Come and get it."

Alex flashed a quick smile before drawing her silver blade and dashing for the creature. The walls began to shudder and shake as they fought. Rain began to pour in as part of the roof was ripped away. The little girl screamed at the sight. Alex turned her head to check on her, taking her eyes off of her foe.

The shifter slammed into her torso, taking her to the ground. Alex let out a loud groan as her back came into contact with the hard floor. Luckily, it only took her a moment to gain her bearings before landing a punch to the creatures jaw. The force gave her just enough space to flip them over. Now in the dominant position, Alex took her blade in hand and plunged the dagger into the creature's chest.

It let out a high pitched scream as the wound began to sizzle. Alex ripped the blade from its chest and stood back to observe her work. The shifter twitched once before going completely still. Alex let out a momentary sigh of relief before her surrounds began to dramatically shift.

The windows began to shatter. Alex covered her face with her arm the best she could before running to the little girl.

"You're gunna be okay. It's okay." Alex did the best to keep the panic out of her voice. There was nowhere left to run. The building was quickly falling to pieces around them. All they could do was sit tight and hope for the best. Alex sent up a quick prayer to whoever was listening to get the frightened child in her arms out of this in one piece.

No sooner had the thought left her mind than a splintered 2x4 came flying towards her. Alex threw her body over the child and prepare for the pain.

* * *

It was practically impossible to get into town. Every road Dean turned down had a cop car or a tree in the middle of it. All the boys cared about was getting to that school and making sure Alex was okay. Sam kept trying to text you. The radio had said that since so many towers were down, they wanted people to hold off on making calls so that those in need of help could call 9-1-1. So he settled for texting you. He must have sent you a dozen text messages in the last 20 minutes without any response.

Deciding that driving may not be the way to go, Dean brought her to a stop in front of a single cop car on a more or less abandoned side road leading into town. The officer got out of his patrol car and stepped out to meet the boys.

"Hold up there son. I can't let you through."

Dean walked straight up to him. "Don't worry we'll just be in and out. Tell you what. I'll even leave my baby right here," he gestured to the Impala, "and I'll be back for it in a bit."

When he went to step around the officer, he moved in front of him and put hand to his chest.

"I can't let you do that."

Sam started to panic. His only thought was of getting to that school and finding Alex. If she had been in that building when the tornado hit… he didn't want to think about what could have possibly happened to her.

"You don't understand," he said. "I have to get through. I have to find…"

"Son," the officer said, "we all need to find somebody right now. Just let the workers do their job."

Sam ran his fingers through his hair. Not knowing if Alex was alright was driving both of the boys insane. Dean suddenly had an idea. He pulled his arm back and punched the officer as hard as he could. He spun and fell against the hood of his patrol car unconscious. They quickly hopped back into the Impala and drove around the patrol car and headed for the school.

Dean had to drive slowly to avoid all of the tree limbs and twisted metal that filled the road. Eventually the school came into view, and Sam's heart stopped.

The television coverage hadn't even begun to do justice to the destruction before him. Sam felt his body begin to go numb as he looked at the leveled building. The chances of anybody inside surviving could not have been high. Terror began to fill his heart until one of the rescue workers suddenly began pulling children from the rubble.

He watched with baited breath as more and more people began to emerge from the rubble. He prayed that she had found a safe room or a place to hide from the destruction. But as the number of people coming out of the building began to decrease without seeing her, the panic returned as he started screaming her name.

Pain was the first thing that Alex's mind registered. The second was the sound of a child crying. Alex blinked slowly and let out a groan as she fought to pull herself out of the haze that had formed in her mind. Her eyes focused on the little girl she had saved from the shifter. She was shaking her furiously, begging her to wake up. Tears were streaming down her dirt spattered face. Rain had soaked her to the bone.

Alex gave her a small smile. "Hey sweetie, you okay?"

She bobbed her head up and down. "Uh huh."

"No cuts and bruises?" She shook her head. "Good." Alex brought herself into a seated position. "Let's get you outta here okay?"

The reassuring smile Alex gave the child quickly faded when she went to stand. A sharp stabbing pain shot up her leg as she put weight on what was no doubt a severely sprained ankle. The girl started to whimper.

"Hey, hey it's okay. We're both okay. What's your name sweetie?"

"Ashley," she said with a sniff.

"Ashley? That's a pretty name." She smiled. "Ashley, I'm gunna get you out of here okay. I just need you to be brave for me. Can you do that?" She nodded again.

"Okay."

"Okay." Alex started to survey her surroundings. The narrow doorway they were in had kept the majority of the collapsed walls off of them, but allowed little room to start digging themselves out. Taking a deep breath, Alex carefully started pulling away pieces of debris while making sure to keep Ashley behind her encase anything started to crumble.

* * *

More and more people began to emerge from the rubble. The boys wandered through the crowd calling for Alex and asking if anyone had seen her. Dean showed a few people a picture of her on his phone. Only one person said they had seen her in the moments before the tornado hit. She'd taken off running down a hall after what looked like her twin and a crying girl. Apart from that, he learned nothing.

Dean's jaw clenched. _The shifter._ Sam came up to his brother in a near panic.

"Any luck?"

Dean shook his head for a moment before turning his own fearful eyes to his brother.

"What is it?"

Dean told him what the woman had said about watching her chase someone down the hall. If it really had been as close to the impact as she made it sound, there was no way that Alex could have made it to safety if she was fighting the shifter.

Sam could feel himself starting to hyperventilate as tears started stinging his eyes. "We've got to keep looking. She's gotta be here." The frantic scanning of his eyes over the landscape stopped the moment he saw two workers pull a woman from the rubble. They placed her lifeless body on the ground before two EMTs laid a white sheet over her.

All of the air left Sam's lungs. "No." Dean followed his eyes and quickly felt himself grow cold. Moving a little closer, they could see that the woman's hair was the wrong color and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't Alex. That reprieve was short lived as they began to realize that just because this woman wasn't her, it didn't mean that the next one wouldn't be.

"Over here," they heard one of the workers yell. Others quickly started to move towards him.

As they got closer, they realized what hand drawn them to the complete opposite side of the rubble. There was a loud banging sound coming from somewhere inside. They started pulling away timbers and pieces of metal in an attempt to get to the source. Finally, they moved a piece of wood and saw a woman buried in a hole down below.

"Ma'am, we're gunna get you out."

"No," she said. "Take her first."

The boys watched as a young girl was passed through the hole. Her mother who had been walking around fitfully looking for her cried out as she came forward and took the young girl in her arms as they both began to cry.

The scene caused the corner of Sam's mouth to quirk up into a tiny smile for a moment until his thoughts once again returned to Alex. In that instant, he knew that he would hold her in much the same way if he ever saw her again.

"Alright let's get her out!"

The shout caught Sam's attention and he turned back to where they were now pulling someone else from the collapsed building. The first thing he noticed was the dirt matted auburn hair. The second was the crystal clear stormy blue of her eyes.

Alex hopped on her sore ankle for a moment when they placed her on the ground before looking up. Her eyes instantly fell on the tall, shaggy haired man and his brother standing a few yards away.

"Sam?"

His name was just a whisper on her lips, but he began to move towards her as if he heard her calling. She staggered forward on her bad ankle, desperate to assure herself that he was real. Before either of them realized it, Sam was running towards her. His body crashed into hers as he took her into her arms and spun her around.

Alex began to laugh. There had been a moment during the storm in which she thought she'd never see the light of day again. Now she was in safe in the arms of the man she loved more than life itself.

Sam pulled back slightly, his own tears running down his face, and began brushing her matted hair from her face. Her watery smile was radiant. His own mirrored hers perfectly before he pulled Alex to him and kissed her with every ounce of passion he possessed.

**Thoughts?**


	11. Chapter 10

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 10_

Their lips moved together in perfect time. Sam moved his hands up to cup her face as she tangled her fingers into his luscious hair. Sam suddenly realized just how much he had missed her. The only explanation he could come up with for not realizing it sooner was time. Their time apart had created a cavern between them, but in that instant it didn't matter.

Breath eventually became a necessity and they pulled apart. Sam continued to hold her face in his hands and studied her. A gentle smile crossed her face before she rested her head against his chest and began to cry softly, releasing the pent up emotion of the past few months. He was there. He was holding her. For a moment, everything was perfect again.

Sam began to gently smooth the hair out of her face as he placed a kiss to the top of her head. He couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face any more than she could stop her tears.

The magical moment was broken when a paramedic came over to them.

"Ma'am?" Sam loosened his grip on her so that she could turn to face him. She hopped slightly on her injured foot. "Can I check your leg?" Alex nodded and followed him over to a nearby ambulance. As he examined her leg, she looked up to Sam and gave him another smile. Maybe things were going to turn out alright for them after all.

* * *

The final verdict was a severely sprained ankle. They showed Alex how to wrap her ankle and gave her some crutches. Ordering her to take it easy for a few weeks. Sam had helped her to the car before they drove off in search of a motel with power so Alex could get cleaned up.

While she was in the shower, Sam and Dean started to discuss what was next for the tree of them. Dean was guessing that Alex was back on board considering the greeting she'd given his little brother. He figured he'd have to give them some alone time to talk again in the near future. One kiss was not going to undo everything that had happened between them.

"You hungry?" Dean asked as Alex began to hobble out of the bathroom.

"Yeah." Dean started to lace up his shoes. Alex held up the wrap. "Hey Sam, do you think you could help me out? I'm having a hard time getting it tight enough."

"Sure," he said with a small smile. He patted a spot beside him on the bed. She was just lowering herself to the matress when the closet door flew open, and a man fell out.

Sam quickly rose to his feet, instinctively putting himself between you and danger. The man slowly rose to his feet as he studied the boys.

"Which of you is John Winchester?" The boys just looked at each other as you reached for the pistol sitting on the bed. "Please, time is of the essence! Which of you is John Winchester?"

"Uh, neither." Dean looked at the closet door behind the man. There was nothing unusual about the door that he could see. Something strange was definitely going on.

"That's impossible. That's absolutely… What did I do wrong?"

Alex trained the gun on him as best she could from behind Sam. "Mind telling us who the hell you are?"

He waived her off. "Not now. I'm thinking."

Frustration and rage bubbled over as Dean grabbed the man and pushed him up against the wall. Holding him there with an arm across his chest, he demanded answers. Sam stepped up next to his brother, looming over both of them.

"I'll tell you what," Sam said, "when one of us falls out of your closet, then you can ask the questions."

The man made his apologies "Is it absolutely essential, sir, that you keep your hands on me?"

Dean let him go and stepped back. He still didn't trust him, but physical force wasn't getting them anywhere.

"Thank you. Gentleman," he looked behind them at Alex, "miss, in the absence of any and all other explanations, I'm afraid this has been a marvelous, tragic misunderstanding. I'll be on my way."

Sam shook his head. "That's not happening."

"There are things of grave importance. I do not have time to deal with the likes of you."

He moved to push past the boys. Sam got hold of him as Dean reached for the cuffs resting on the table. Dean grabbed his wrist. "You're not going anywhere, 007, 'til we get some answers." He moved to handcuff him to the chair. There was a blur of movement, and suddenly both Sam and Dean were handcuffed to the chair as the man walked out the door.

Alex jumped to her feet and tried to run after him. A yell escaped her throat when she put the full weight of her body on her badly damaged ankle. She fell back on the bed, grasping the joint in main. "Son of a bitch!"

"Don't just lay there," Dean shouted. "Do something!"

She glared at him as she rolled to her feet and hopped towards them, careful not to put too much weight on her foot. "Yeah I'll get right on that." She grabbed the cuff key and started releasing the boys. "How the hell did he do that anyway?"

"I have no idea," Sam said.

"Come on. He's getting away."

Dean grabbed his gun and keys before heading for the door. Alex started to reach for her crutches when she felt Sam's hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. There's time for that later. Right now we've got to catch this guy." She crutched as quickly as she could after the elder Winchester, Sam close behind her making sure she was okay.

They found Dean, pointing the gun into the broken driver's side window of the Impala. The mysterious man was seated behind the wheel. The sound of the hammer being pulled back on the gun caused him to flinch slightly as Sam opened the other door, ensuring he had no escape.

"Nice taste in wheels," said Dean.

"Yours I presume?"

Dean wrenched open the door and haled the man to his feet. The boys quickly got him back inside and kept hold of both of his arms until they made sure he was properly secured to the chair before stepping away from him. Alex did all of the requisite tests.

"He's clean," she said.

"I could have told you that."

She gave him an exasperated look as knelt down and wrapped the wound on his arm. Using her boot knife, she cut his bindings and let him loose. He nodded in thanks before rubbing his wrists.

Dean was the first to break the following silence. "Yeah, well, you can start by telling us everything before I beat it out of you."

"I'm quite certain this is all beyond your understanding, my alpha-male-monkey friend." Dean's eyebrows rose. "And violence will not help you comprehend this any easier."

The thinly veiled insult enraged the elder Winchester. Drawing his gun, Dean surged forward and took hold of the man's jacket before pointing his weapon at him.

"Let me tell you what I understand! Some asshat pops out of my closet asking about my dad, smashes up my ride. So why am I not getting violent, again?"

A look of utter shock marred his features. "John Winchester is your father?" Before anyone could answer, a loud rattling sound could be heard coming from the closet the man had emerged from less than a half hour before. " What is that?" He slowly rose to his feet and turned towards the closed, realization sinking in. "Oh, my God."

"What?"

"Run!"

The door flew open with a flash of blinding light. A woman in a blood spattered grey dress sauntered through the doorway.

"Henry," she laughed as she looked at the terrified man before her. "Silly man, you forgot to lock the door. But then spells never were your best subject, were they? Why don't you be a doll and give me what I want? And I promise to kill you and your friends her quickly."

"You know I can't do that."

"You're not a fighter, Henry."

Dean stepped forward, gun at the ready. "No, but we are."

The woman turned her attention to the three hunters, pausing when she laid eyes on Alex. Her eyes narrowed in a slight squint as she studied her. "Do I know you?" The boys lunged, but had little success as she flung them back against the wall.

Taking her gun in hand, Alex moved towards the demon. She was caught completely off guard when she found herself suddenly flying backwards, her head making a solid thumping noise as it came into contact with the wall before sliding down next to Sam.

Both boys froze, eyes wide, as they slowly got to their feet. Dean came to his senses and stabbed the woman in the back with the demon knife. Hellfire flickered for a moment before going out. She turned to Dean. _This can't be happening._

"Well that's no way to treat a lady."

"Alex, you okay?" Sam asked as he crouched down next to her. She was so stunned that all she could do was nod. They heard Henry telling them to run. Hoisting Alex up by her armpits, Sam threw her arm over his shoulder as they all assented from the room.

* * *

Sam checked Alex for injuries despite her insistence that she was fine while Dean rocketed them down the highway. Finding a secluded spot under the bridge, Dean pulled over. Gravel flew as the Impala came to a screeching halt. Their new friend rocketed from the car. He fell to his knees a few feet away and began riding his stomach of its contents.

"You okay?" Alex asked as she got out of the car. Sam quickly rushed around to offer her support seeing as how her crutches had been left behind in the motel.

The man nodded. "Yes, I will be." Alex flinched and looked away when he vomited again. He produced a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth. "It's just all the adventures I enjoy are usually of the literary nature."

Dean took up his position on the opposite side of Alex. "Yeah, well, no that you're done blowing chunks, you want to tell us who Betty Crocker was?"

"Abaddon," he said as he rose to his feet. "She's a demon."

"No she's not," said Alex.

"I can assure you she is."

"No." Dean shook his head violently. "No you see, I know demons. And that, that's no demon."

Looking at Dean in exasperation he said, "And how would you possibly know that?"

He pointed to Alex. "Because demons can't throw her into walls like that!"

He studied her for a moment. "It's true," she said as she leaned on Sam a bit more. "That's never happened to me before, and I've been dealing with demons for years." He didn't seem to understand what she was saying.

Sam could tell that they were getting nowhere. "Okay fine. She's a demon. Where'd she come from?"

"Where'd you come from?" followed Dean.

"She's from Hell." Dean rolled his eyes. _Could of guessed that one_. "I'm from Normal, Illinois – 1958."

That was not the answer Alex was expecting to hear. Sam had once told her a bit about the boys pulling a Back to the Future and meeting their parents. It had all been too weird for her to comprehend. Now a man stood in front of them claiming to have done a Part 2. It was just too much.

"If you could just take me to John, we could clear all this up. I'm sure."

"I've told you," Dean said, "that's not gunna happen."

"Why not?"

"Because he's dead!"

The man's eyes grew wide. "No." The word was barely above a whisper. He turned is back to the hunters and fought to keep his racing mind in check.

Alex could see how upset he was and unconsciously tightened her grip on Sam's arm. Looking down at her, he could see the concern she had for the mysterious man. If she was concerned about him, he would do his best to figure out what was going on for her.

"Everything." He turned back towards them. "I'm his father."

* * *

Alex carefully examined the driver's license and other items in the man's wallet. "They're real," she said. "That or he's better at making fakes than you are Dean."

The older Winchester just stared the man down. Nothing this man could say would make Dean like him. He'd heard all of his father's stories about the deadbeat dad that ran out on him as a kid. If this really was his grandfather, he didn't want to get to know him.

"Whatever." He hit Sam on the shoulder. "Let's go get some food."

The boys went to get food, leaving Alex and the newly discovered Henry Winchester alone. They watched the boys walk away

"He's not a very nice man is he?"

Alex turned her eyes back to him. "Who Dean?" He nodded. "He's actually one of the best men I know. They both are. They'd do anything for the people they love. I've seen it."

He seemed puzzled by her answer. The man he was describing and the one she was describing did not seem to match. It made sense for her to describe the younger of the two men that way, but he could not see any of what she described in Dean.

"What was your father like?"

"My father?" Alex asked.

"John. What was he like?"

Her eyes grew wide. "No. No. No." She shook her head vigorously. "We're not related."

"Then why do you travel with them?"

She turned her head and looked at Sam with soft eyes. "I have my reasons." The look on her face told Henry all he needed to know.

The boys came back with the food. Sam sat Alex's favorite sandwich in front of her as Dean threw a burger down in front of his grandfather. They ate in silence for a moment before Sam spoke up.

"How you doing?"

Henry cleaned his mouth with a napkin. "I'll be fine. After all, despite everything, I've just met my grandsons haven't I?" He extended his hand to Sam. "Henry Winchester. It's a pleasure."

Sam shook the man's hand and greeted him like he would anyone else. When Henry turned to Dean, he just looked at him for a moment before looking down and returning to his food. Alex elbowed him.

"What?"

"Don't be an ass." He still didn't do anything. "That's Dean."

Henry nodded. "Where's your family?"

"I don't really have one." When she realized that Henry was waiting for her to continue, she elaborated. "My family is all dead. I never knew my parents. Just got to inherit the legacy."

"What legacy?"

"Well," Alex cleared her throat and tried to look more comfortable than she was. She looked straight into Henry's eyes as she spoke. "I'm the Mayfair."

A cold shiver ran down the man's spine. His chair made a scraping noise as he quickly stood, ready to run from the room. Alex held up a hand to stop him.

"No, it's not like that. I'm not evil. I uh… I don't even have my magic anymore."

That' got everyone's attention. "What?" Sam and Dean said in unison.

She shook her head. "I can remember how to do it. I just… can't. I try, but nothing happens."

"When were you going to tell us?" Dean asked.

"When I figured out what it all meant."

Henry started to sit down.

"How did this happen?"

Alex looked down for a moment before telling them about the small things she had noticed upon her return from Purgatory. First it was the reflexive magic. Then it was seeing the demons. Eventually she told them about her visit with Crowley and how he had taken a piece of her soul. She purposefully left out the fact that he had taken a piece of Sam's soul as well. That was a conversation best had in private.

"Interesting," said Henry.

"What?"

"Everything we know about the Mayfair indicates that no good can come from her existence."

Dean was getting tired of the man already. "Yeah well she's not going anywhere. Now you know why we were so shocked at her being throw up against a wall. So how about we figure out how to clean up your mess, huh?"

He nodded. "Abaddon. Yes. She must be stopped."

"How come she didn't die when I stabbed her?"

The naivety of the man shocked Henry. How was it that he didn't know he couldn't kill a demon with a simple knife. He tried to make him she that by describing a knife that could do what he wanted. When Dean pulled the exact knife he had been describing out of the inside pocket of his jacket he was stunned.

"Where'd you get that?"

Dean put the knife away.

"Demon gave it to me."

Reaching forward, Alex placed one of her hands on Henry's. "This isn't exactly our first rodeo."

"I can see that."

Sam brought up the subject of the portal he had used to arrive in their time. "Now, that portal or whatever it was you came through – is it still open?"

"I highly doubt it. Why?"

"I'm just thinking if we can't kill this Abaddon…"

Alex picked up the rest of his thought. "… maybe we can send her back to where she came from. Now, I know a lot about magic, but I don't know how you did that."

"It's a blood sigil," Henry said. "Blood leads to blood. Or their next of kin."

That made since, but somehow Abaddon had been able to come through it as well. That meant it wasn't exclusive to the person casting the spell. That gave them a way to send her back. "So can't you create this blood sigil again?"

Henry thought he could. He started listing off what he would need. The part that Sam found most intriguing was when he started talking about letting his soul recharge. Sam was in awe.

"You tapped the power of your soul to get here? I thought only angels could do that."

_How do they not know this?_ "You should know this. What level are you two?"

"What level?" Dean asked.

"Level of knowledge." He looked between the two young men in confusion. "You're Men of Letters, correct?"

The three hunters looked at each other in confusion. "Men of what?"

"Men of Letters," Henry repeated, "like your father, who taught you our ways."

Sam was the one to be confused this time. "Our father taught us how to be hunters."

It was Henry's turn to be utterly lost. John should have taught them everything Henry taught him. The gaps in their knowledge were completely absurd to him. It actually caused him to laugh at Sam's implication.

"You're not." When they just gave him blank stares he faltered. "Are you? Hunters?" Alex nodded. "Well, hunters are… hunters are apes."

For the first time since meeting him, Alex was actually annoyed at the man.

"Well these _apes_ are the only chance you've got. So I suggest you start helping us out a little or this Abaddon is going to steamroll us all."

* * *

The Impala came to a stop on a rundown side street that was little more than an ally. Henry opened the door and made a hasty exit. Sam helped Alex out of the back seat and retrieved her replacement crutches for her.

"Thanks," she said with a little smile that he returned with a nod. _Great. Still awkward._

They followed the Winchester patriarch down the street to a rundown little comic book store. "What's going on here?" He seemed so lost. So confused. He knew that this was the place. Everything was just so different. For a moment, he doubted his memory until he saw the aged carving on the door. He reached out and caressed it with the tips of his fingers to reassure himself that it was real

"Alright, well," Dean said as he clapped his hands together, "this is enlightening. Let's hit the road hu?"

Alex smacked him on the chest. "Don't be an asshole, Dean."

"Just give him a minute," offered Sam.

That did not make Dean very happy. "We just spent four hours driving, okay? All he did was stare out the window and request Pat Boone on the radio. He had is time?"

Alex loved Dean like a brother, but there were times that she really wanted to lay him out. Now was quickly becoming one of them. She was about to tell him just how she felt when Henry drew her attention.

"It's just a facade, a way to rook our enemies into believe we are house elsewhere."

Patience had never been Dean Winchester's greatest virtue, and what little he had was pretty much shot. He started to demand answered. Henry, however, was not willing to talk. All of the secrecy was not helping anybody. Dean hazard a guess that it had to do with the fact that they were hunters, something Henry clearly had distaste for.

"What do you have against us?"

"Aside from the unthinking, unwashed, shoot-first-and-don't-bother-to-ask-questions-later part, not much, really."

"You don't know us," said Alex. "You can't just assume that we are robots. You have no idea what we've been through. What we've done to keep people safe."

Things were starting to get heated.

"You know what?" Sam joined in. "Wait a second. Were also John's children."

That seemed to give Henry pause. With a bit of prompting, he finally started to open up about the Men of Letters. They were a group of knowledgeable individuals that did all they could to learn everything about the supernatural world. "We share our findings with a few trusted hunters – the very elite."

Alex found herself wondering if they would have been in that group, if they would even exist.

"So you're like the Yodas to our Jedis," quipped Dean. Henry looked at him uncomprehendingly. Dean just shook his head. "Never mind. You'll get there."

One question still remained. Why had they never heard of them? What Henry was describing made them sound like the cream of the crop. A group like that didn't just disappear overnight. There had to be some trace of them somewhere. Alex racked her brain to come up with a reason as to why nobody knew about them. Henry had one theory to offer. Abaddon.

They followed him through the door and down a narrow hallway. He held up a small wooden box with some sort of intricate symbol carved into it. It is what he assumed she was after. He didn't know what it was, but it must be important if she wanted to get her hands on it so badly.

"Let me get this straight," Dean said. "You traveled through time to protect something that does you don't know what from a demon that you know nothing about?" Henry stopped and looked at Dean for a moment before he continued down the hallway. When he put it like that, it sounded silly even to his own ears. "Good."

The corridor opened into the main shop. Henry looked around for a moment before asking Sam for his walkie-talkie.

"You mean my phone?"

"Even better." Sam willingly handed him the device. He held it near is mouth and said, "Operator, I need Delta 457." Alex suppressed a laugh.

"Who are you not calling?" Dean asked.

"Our emergency number."

Alex crutched towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I hate to break it to you, Henry, but I don't think that works anymore." She gently took the phone from his hand and returned it to Sam. An idea suddenly came to her. She turned to the young woman in black behind the counter and asked her if she could borrow the laptop computer she was currently on.

"Like you could fit a computer in this room," scoffed Henry.

Alex quickly pulled up a search engine and began asking for the names of the men he knew in his time. Soon they found a newspaper article and a lead they hoped would tell them what happened to the long lost secret society.

* * *

Nighttime visits to graveyards were not a part of the job any of them particularly enjoyed. It usually meant hours of hard work with a ticking clock hanging over their heads that kept them from resting when they became so tired that they wanted to just lay down in the hole they were digging and take a nap. Alex was the only one not carrying a flashlight as they examined the headstones. She watched as Henry took a closer look at the grave belonging to Albertus Magnus.

"I'm sorry your friend is gone," she said.

He looked at her over his shoulder. "He was hardly a friend. He was the greatest alchemist of the middle ages."

That confused everyone. "Okay, so why is he buried here?" Sam asked.

"He's not. His was the alias we'd us when going incognito. I believe someone planted his name in that article…so that if a Man of Letters came looking for answers, he'd know something was amiss."

"So someone wanted you to come to this grave?"

Henry seemed to think so. He just wasn't sure what the motivation for it was. The graves had an unusual symbol carved into it. When Dean had asked about it, Henry had explained that it was their crest.

"It's on all the tombstones except for this one," Sam said. "Larry Ganem."

Henry examined it for a moment before coming to a decision. "You boys ever exhume a body?"

The hunters all looked at each other. Their silent conversation spoke of far too many exhumed bodies and disturbed graves in the name of keeping the world safe. Dean went to the car to get the shovels after losing Rock, Paper, Scissors once again. He handed one of the three shovels to Sam before looking at Alex. He started to hand it to her before realizing what he was doing.

She shrugged. "Kinda can't dig. Crutches." Dean grumbled slightly before tossing the shovel aside and going to help his brother. They started sweating almost instantly as they worked. "Sorry I can't help this time guys."

"Shut up, Alex," Dean grumbled

Henry looked at her in surprise. "You've dug up a grave before?"

She smiled at him. "More times than I can count. I was a hunter long before I met these two. At least they have each other. I always had to do it by myself."

"Interesting."

"What?"

"Noting it's just… I never would have guessed that a woman would choose to be a hunter."

"It's not so much that you choose this life. It kind of chooses you."

The words rolled around in Henry's mind as the boys continue to dig. He had always assumed that hunters chose their path because they were incapable of pursuing anything else. The few hunters he had interacted with in the past had not lead the best of lives. In fact, he's not sure he would even call it living. No family. No home. It was no way to live.

Sam's shovel came into contact with the coffin. The boys quickly threw down their shovels and hoisted the coffin out of the grave. Henry grabbed one of the shovels and used it as a lever to pry open the casket. Inside rested a skeleton in a suit.

Dean looked at it in confusion. "Hey, was, uh, Larry a World War I vet?"

"No," replied Henry.

The name on the tags didn't tell them anything either. They were pretty much back to square one. The only thing they knew for certain was that this wasn't Larry. If Larry was in fact dead, he wasn't buried here. Henry stood. He ordered the boys to cover everything up before purposefully striding in the direction of the care.

"Cover this up," mocked Dean. "Wouldn't kill you to help out! We have an extra shovel!"

* * *

They hit the books the moment they returned to the motel. Since there were limited resources, Henry sat off to the side on the couch so that Alex and the boys could get to work. He started whistling and old song.

"What is that?" Dean asked. "I know that tune."

"_As Time Goes By_? I hope so. It's from _Casablanca._"

"Right. Dad used to whistle it from time to time."

That surprised Alex. It was hard for her to imagine John Winchester being the whistling type. Everything she'd ever heard about the man made him sound like a mixture of Dirty Harry and John Constantine. Two men that she was pretty sure didn't whistle.

Henry started telling them the story about his personal connection to the song. Sam seemed to be surprised that his father had been so afraid of a movie that he couldn't sleep. He had always been fearless in his eyes. He tried to picture his father winding the gears of the little music box before he went to bed every night. It was an image he didn't think he could ever get right.

The emotion in the room started to close in around Dean, making him uncomfortable. He turned back to the computer. "Hey, uh, according to county records, Tom Carey lives in Lebanon, Kansas and is a very happy 127 year-old." He closed the computer. "I say we get some shut-eye, head over first thing in the morning."

Everyone was beginning to pack it in for the night when Sam noticed something in his father's journal.

"Listen to this. According to Dad's journal, he once tortured a demon that said he made his bones working for Abaddon, who, it turns out, is a Knight of Hell."

That caught Alex's attention. "Knight of Hell?"

Henry stood from the couch and made his way towards the team of hunters.

"Knights of Hell are hand-picked by Lucifer himself. They are the first-fallen, first-born demons."

"So very pure, very strong," said Sam.

Henry nodded. "Legend has it that Archangels had killed all of them, which, as we have witnessed, is not the case."

"I guess that would explain a few things," said Alex.

"Like what?"

"Like her being able to throw me around like a rag doll. I've never met a demon that could do that before. It was something I actually kind of counted on." Sam could see how heavily the recent changes were weighing on her. She was a damn good hunter, but now she was having to relearn the rules to a game she had once known by heart. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed slightly. She gave him a small smile. "Hopefully the legend is mostly right and she's the last of her kind."

They all nodded. Henry looked at the journal with interest. "You say that belonged to your father?"

"Yeah."

"May I?"

Sam slid the journal towards his grandfather. He examined it carefully, a soft look of pride on his face. The Men of Letters used journals too. Lifting a photograph that was tucked into the corner he found "HW" engraved into the worn leather. It was the journal he had ordered for himself.

Dean's heart gave a painful twist. "That was yours?"

"It must have arrived after…" realization dawned on him. "I'm beginning to gather I don't make it back from this time, do I?"

"We don't know for sure," Sam said. "All we do know is that Dad never saw you again."

"What did he think happened to me?"

All of the hatred Dean had developed for his grandfather over the years bubbled to the surface. "He thought you ran out on him." Everything Dean had ever thought about the man before him was turning out to be a lie. He had a picture in his mind of a dead beat man with dirty hands and a beer belly that had abandoned his family. The suited man in front of him didn't match any of that, and Dean wasn't sure how to handle it.

"John was a legacy; I was supposed to teach him the ways of the Letters."

"Well, he learned things a little differently."

"How?"

Dean didn't hold back. He let his anger and frustration seep into every word. "The hard way. Surviving a lonely childhood, a stinking war… only to get married and have his wife taken by a demon… and later killed by one himself." Henry looked down at the floor. "That man got a bum rap around every turn. But you know what? He kept going. And in the end, he did a hell of a lot more good than he did bad."

"I'm sorry. I wish I had been there for him."

"Yea, it's a little late for that now, don't you think?" Dean pushed back from the table and headed for the door.

"It's the price we pay for upholding great responsibility. We know that."

Alex closed her eyes and brace for the storm she knew was about to hit. If anybody in this world knew anything bout responsibility, it was Dean Winchester. That man had given up more in his life than anyone had the right to ask of him. And he did it for the people he loved. She opened her eyes to see Dean storming towards Henry.

"Your responsibility was to your family, not some glorified book club!"

Sam quickly stood and created a human barrier between his brother and Henry. The feeling of his hands on Dean's shoulders was probably the only thing that kept the older Winchester from punching the 'deadbeat dad' he had often imagined.

"I was a legacy. I had no choice."

Dean backed up a step. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." He spun on his heels and quickly moved to the door.

"Dean, where are you going?" Alex asked.

"Out!"

Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll keep an eye on him. You stay here with Henry alright?"

Alex nodded her consent and watched the boys leave.

"He doesn't think very highly of me does he?"

She turned her attention to Henry as he sank into the chair Sam had recently vacated. "He's just confused. Everything he's ever known has suddenly changed. It's gunna take him a little while to get used to it." She placed one of her hands over his folded ones that rested on the table. "Just give him some time."

He nodded. That sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Curiosity finally got the better of Henry. "What do they know?"

Alex was confused. "I'm sorry?"

"What do they know? About me? How… how did they end up living like this? And how," he paused, "how did the Mayfair end up on the side of good?"

Alex chuckled. "That's a pretty long answer. I hope you've got a while." He gestured for her to continue, so she did.

Alex spent the next hour telling him everything. She told him what she knew of the boy's lives before she met them. They laughed over Dean's initial reaction at meeting her. The time he sold his soul to save his brother and how Sam had torn up the entire country trying to find him. She even told him about her love for Sam, and how she had felt a pull to him the instant she'd laid eyes on him.

"Soulmates."

She seemed a bit surprised. "How'd you know?"

"Research. There's not a lot of lore on the phenomenon, but legend has it that once the two souls find each other there is nothing that can keep them apart. Not even death."

She nodded. "Yeah that's what I thought too." A tear started to form at the corner of her eye. She sniffed and sat up straight, forcing the emotion back down, but it was too late Henry caught on.

"Something tells me that's not exactly the case."

Taking a deep breath, Alex looked over at him and launched back into her story. This time she focused on herself. "The Apocalypse played a big part in all of this." When Henry asked her if she meant the Biblical one she just nodded. She went on to tell him about Sam and the demon blood. The broken seals making her power grow, and how she had ultimately given into the darkness inside of her to save Sam's soul. Henry's heart softened when she told him about how he had gotten through to her and brought her back to herself once Lucifer had taken hold. Then, finally, she told him about Heaven and Hell. She told him about their souls being separate and finding herself alone in Purgatory.

As he listened, Henry found himself in awe not only of his grandsons but of the woman in front of him. These three had faced insurmountable odds time and time again, but had made it through to the other side each time. He could tell, just by watching the woman in front of him, that they had not made it completely unharmed. That was when Alex lowered the bombshell.

"You know what the craziest part of all this is?"

"What?"

"The fact that all that can be taken away." She went on to describe how things had been since her return. That's when she told him the rest of what Crowley had said when he took her magic.

Henry's eyes grew wide. "I didn't think that was possible." In fact, everything he had ever learned told him that something like that couldn't really happen. Souls were far too complicated a thing to just simply remove part of it completely.

"Neither did I."

The sound of heavy footsteps outside the door. Alex quickly wiped her eyes and put her mask back in place. Henry just watched her in awe as the boys wandered back in.

Dean was obviously a little worse for the wear and fell straight into bed. Sam shook his head at his brother.

"He okay?" Alex asked.

"He'll be fine. Um... I think I'm gunna get some sleep too. I'll uh..." he gestured towards the couch.

"Now it's okay. You take the bed. It's my turn to sleep on the couch anyway."

"You sure?"

She gave him a soft smile. "Yeah."

Sam nodded.

"No wait," said Henry. He may not be able to do much for them, but perhaps he could help push them in the right direction. "I'll take the couch. The beds are large enough for the two of you to share one." He looked over at Dean who was currently in a face down starfish in the center of the bed. "I would say I could share with Dean, but I don't think there would be room."

Alex looked over at her friend and chuckled. "Yeah not so much." Then she looked at Sam. Trepidation formed in the pit of her stomach. "You, uh, okay with that? Us sharing I mean." She did her best to keep the hope out of her voice, but she was sure Sam heard it anyway. She had missed his touch so much. The kiss they had shared only a few days before just served to make it that much worse.

"Yeah." It came out as just a whisper. Sam cleared his throat. "Yeah sure. T-that's fine."

Alex stood to go get ready for bed. The feel of Henry's hand on hers stopped her from walking away.

"Thank you, Alexandra. For the telling me everything." She smiled at him.

"Please just call me Alex. Only demons or my dad when he was angry called me by my full name."

He returned the smile. "Of course. Thank you, Alex. I never thought I'd met the Mayfair, or that she would be like you."

She gave his hand a small squeeze before going to join Sam in the bed. Each of them claiming a different side and trying their best to keep to it. Henry watched them for a little while as they drifted off to sleep. In sleep, their true feelings came to light. He watched them start to reach for one another without knowing it. Each of them having a need for the other. He looked over to Dean and saw that he hand turned onto his back and moved into a position that would easily lead to fighting if need be. It made him sad to know that the oldest of his grandsons could not completely relax even in sleep. He always had to be on guard and ready for a fight.

He turned his attention from them to the journal in front of him. He spent the rest of the night reading its pages. From them he learned the kind of man his son had become without his guidance. By the time the sun had started to peek through the curtains, he knew what he had to do.

* * *

Warmth was the first thing Alex noticed the next morning when she awoke. She was very warm and cozy. The second thing she noticed was the weight on her side followed by the scent. Blinking her eyes open, Alex came face to face with a sleeping Sam Winchester. It startled her for a moment before her mind caught up with her surroundings.

Sometime during the night, Sam had pulled her to him or she had gone to him. Either way it didn't matter. What mattered is that for the first time in over 300 years she woke up where she belonged, Sam Winchester's arms. It brought a smile to her face. They still had a lot to talk about, but this was a good start.

She carefully detached herself from the sleeping man and grabbed her crutches from the side of the bed before moved to check on Henry. A frown marred her face when she didn't find him on the couch. A quick check of the bathroom reviled he wasn't there either. Henry Winchester had vanished.

Alex rushed to the bed and started shaking Sam. "Sam. Sam get up."

He bolted upright, preparing to fight. His muscles instantly relaxed when he realized it was Alex holding his arm, but the panic soon gave way to worry when he saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Henry's gone."

Sam looked around the room in much the same way she had too much the same result. The one difference was the note he found scratched out on a yellow notepad. "What is it?" He showed her the note that simply read

_I'm going to fix everything._

_HW_

That was not a good sign. Sam reached over and hit Dean's shoulder with the notebook.

"What? What?!" Dean grumbled as he pulled himself out of dreamland.

"Henry – he's gone."

"Where is he?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Do you really think we would be waking you up if we knew, Dean?" He shot her a grumpy look of derision.

"He left this." Sam showed his brother the note.

Dean instantly reached the same conclusion the others had. Henry was going to play with time and destroy the universe as they knew it. "I'll go check the car. You guys see if you can find anything else."

"On it." Alex opened up the laptop and immediately began looking for places of interest that Henry may have got to. Dean returned a moment later.

"Now we know what he meant by _fix everything._"

"What?" Sam asked.

"He broke into the trunk, stole an angel feather. I'm guessing he's gunna whip up another one of those blood spells and Marty McFly himself back to the 1950s."

"He may be trying to stop Abaddon before she attacks," offered Alex.

Dean nodded. "Or grab Dad and haul ass. Look, point is he's doing it."

"How?" Sam asked. "He still needs two ingredients for the spell."

Alex offered an answer. "There's a shop in town that might be able to help him out. I went there a couple times when I was on my own. He could get the ingredients there."

The police scanner interrupted them as it sounded from the laptop speakers. "One dead at Astro Comics."

"That's the shop we visited yesterday."

The brothers looked at each other. "Abaddon?"

"That'd be my guess."

"Okay, so she's close." Dean started grabbing his weapons. "I'll go find Henry." He looked at Sam. "You find Larry. Figure out how to kill this chick."

"No wait!" Alex said as the boys were about to leave. They stopped, Dean holding open the door. "If Abaddon is really that close he's gunna be gunning for Henry. He'll need both of you if she shows up. I can talk to Larry."

"And what if she comes after him?" Sam offered. "You're in no condition to fight."

"She won't. She thinks all the Men of Letters are dead. Henry is her only possible target."

There was a tense moment as they considered her words. Dean eventually gave in. "Alright. We'll drop you off, but you're taking the knife. And I want you to call us the second you're done you understand?"

Alex just nodded. She knew there would be no arguing with him. Not when he took that tone. She turned her attention to Sam. He looked like he was fighting with himself about something. A sight she was seeing far too much of lately. It only lasted a moment before he too nodded and followed his brother and Alex out the door

* * *

Pulling up outside the little house, Alex carefully got out of the back seat and retrieved her crutches. She was just about to hobble off when she heard Dean say "Hold up." She turned back to see Sam's window down and Dean leaning across the center of the seat to get a better look at her. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He held up Ruby's knife.

She made her way back towards the car. Sam took the knife from his brother and handed it to her. "Thanks." Taking hold of the knife, she went to pull away but the feel of Sam's tight grip on her wrist.

His eyes pleaded with her when she looked back at him. "Please be careful."

"I will." He released her hand. She reached up to brush a strand of hair from his face, a loving gesture that he leaned into ever so slightly. "You too."

He nodded. "Always."

With that, she put the knife away and went to ring the doorbell as the Impala roared down the street. She turned back to the door and knocked. A kind older woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?"

Alex smiled at her. "I hope so I'm looking for Larry Ganem. Is he home?"

"Who's there?" a man asked from inside the house.

Alex looked past the door to see an old man sitting in an arm chair. "My name is Alex Thomas. I, uh, my boyfriend and I found Henry Winchester's journal. I was hoping you could fill in some of the gaps."

At the mention of the man's name, Larry sat up straighter. "Let her in."

The woman moved aside. "Thank you." She led Alex to the sitting room where she took a seat on the couch opposite the old man. His wife went to the kitchen to make them all tea while Alex and Larry talked.

"You found Henry's journal."

"Yes. My boyfriend is his grandson. It was in his father's things, and we were hoping you could fill in some of the gaps. Sam wanted to talk to you himself, but he's been a little under the weather. So I came myself."

He nodded for a moment. "I hope he feels better soon."

"Thanks. Me too."

"So these questions that you have. Why don't you just ask Henry?"

She looked down sheepishly. "He's dead. His son too. My boyfriend and his brother are all that's left."

Pain seeped into the man's features. "So, Henry is dead. I was so sure that – that he had survived."

"I'm sorry." His wife returned with the tea set and began pouring them all cups of the steaming liquid.

"It doesn't matter. They're gone. We're gone."

"But Abaddon's not. She's the reason we found the journal. She came busting through our door demanding a box. We barely got out of there. Once we did, we started looking for whatever it was she wanted. We thought that maybe if we found it first we could keep it safe."

"Abaddon was a hired gun. She killed us all that one night."

"Everyone but you," Alex offered.

"She blinded me. It's a miracle I survived." His wife took his hand and assured him that he was alright now. He was safe from the demon that haunted his every nightmare. "Did you find the box?"

"Yes. I need to know everything there is to know about it."

"In the box is the key to every object, scroll, and spell ever collected for thousands of years under one roof. It is the supernatural mother load." Alex nodded. She could easily see why the demon would want something like that.

"So how do we stop Abaddon?"

"You don't." He took a pen out of his pocked and began scribbling on a small notepad. "If you know where the key is, then take it to these coordinates." Alex examined the coordinates. They weren't that far away. "Throw it in. Shut the door forever. And walk away."

This shocked Alex. "Why?" He told her of the wards and protections guarding the coordinates. What he was describing sounded like the ultimate supernatural fallout shelter. "But all of that knowledge will be gone."

"And that is the price we have to pay for keeping it away from Abaddon." The gravity of the situation was starting to become apparent to Alex. She knew that taking down the Knight of Hell was going to be difficult, but if what Larry was telling her was true, it may very well be impossible. "You do… have the key, don't you?"

"I don't." His face fell. "By boyfriend has it." She stood. Larry's wife followed suit. "I better get going." She reached for her crutches. "The sooner we can get this taken care of the better."

"Godspeed."

"Thank you." She turned her attention to the woman so she could thank her for her hospitality. She stopped short when she saw the look in her eye.

"How rude. You didn't even finish your tea." Her eyes went black. Alex started to reach for the knife in her jacket pocket, but never had a chance. The woman knocked her to the ground and rendered her unconscious before turning to Larry.

"Abaddon."

She gave him an evil smile before ending his life with the knife that was intended to end hers.

* * *

They entered the shop just in time to see Henry finish drawing the blood sigil and begin chanting.

"Henry, wait!" Dean yelled.

He looked over his shoulder at the boys. "This is a risk I have to take."

"No you don't," Sam said. "If you come with us now we may be able to stop Abaddon."

The sigil began to glow.

"You cannot begin to understand how I felt after reading John's journal."

Dean assured him he could. He had practically committed the thing to memory through the years. It was like his Bible. He read it to some extent every day.

"I'm going to go back and give him the life he deserves, not the one he was forced to live."

"And what if it's not meant to be?" Dean asked.

"Then it will be!"

"You don't know that," Sam said. "Even if you manage to go back and stop Abaddon. You'll change everything. Dean and I might not even exist."

"I'm aware that time is a delicate mistress, but I'm willing to bet on this being for the best."

Dean began pleading with him. "Listen, I understand that this is not your idea of a happy ending, okay, and that – that you're disappointed that me and Sam are mount-breathing hunters. But you know what? We stopped the Apocalypse. Sam stopped Alex from going all darkside and deep-frying the planet. If you go back there and change everything, that may not happen."

"I understand."

He did, truly. There was just no possible way that he could let things stand as they were. He looked at both of the boys one last time before turning to the still glowing sigil. Reaching towards it, he readied himself for the journey, but suddenly everything went black.

Dean had used the butt of his gun to knock the man out. Henry going back in time before they took care of Abaddon was just too big of a risk. The boys went to pick him up and put him in the car when Sam's phone began to ring. "It's Alex," he said as he read the caller id.

"Hey Alex..." he was cut off by another woman's voice on the phone.

"No. Wrong answer. Try again."

Dean watched the color drain from Sam's face.

"Abaddon."

"Good boy. Now listen up. I want to make a good, old-fashioned horse trade. Henry and the key for your sweet little girlfriend."

"What did you do to her?" By this point, anger was rolling off of Sam in waives. Dean was now standing to his full height and watching his brother with baited breath.

"On nothing yet, but if you don't hurry up… she dies." Sam gulped. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal." She told him where to meet her and warned not to keep her waiting before ending the call. Sam's hand trembled slightly as he pulled the phone away from his ear. For a moment, he just stared at the now blank screen.

"Sam?"

"Abaddon. She has Alex."

* * *

Henry slowly came to in the back seat of the Impala. His small groan alerted the others to his newly conscious state.

"Hey," Sam said. "How's your head?"

"Throbbing."

"Sorry about that," Dean said.

"No, you're not. You've wanted to do that since we met." He took a moment to look at his surroundings. "Where are we headed?"

Sam looked at his feet. "Abaddon has Alex." Henry felt himself become concerned for the woman's safety. "She wants us to trade you and the key for her."

"And you're going to do it?"

Sam sighed. "I don't know."

This surprised Henry. "You know she told me about you two. When it was just the two of us left in the room, she told me about your shared past. Not just about the two of you, but about you as well, Dean. She told me everything. "He looked at Sam. "About how she felt after you died." Then to Dean. "About your deal. The Apocalypse. All of it. I'm sorry you boys had to go through that."

"Yeah well," Dean said, "it happened. Not much we can do about that now. Now we just have to figure out how to get Alex back from Abaddon."

Henry nodded. "She seems like quite the remarkable woman."

"She is," Sam said, the ghost of a smile forming on his face.

This did not go unnoticed by the Man of Letters. It made him feel that his theory about the removal of a section of a person's soul was correct.

"Can you slow Abaddon down?" Dean asked.

Henry thought about it for a moment before asking to see one of their guns. He removed a bullet from the clip. "Hand me a knife." The boys exchanged a look. "Please." Sam handed him his pocket knife and watched as Henry started carving something into the bullet.

* * *

The bindings on her wrist dug into her skin slightly as she tried to work the ropes loose.

"You know that's not going to do any good," Abaddon said from across the room.

"Yeah well, it beats just sitting here."

The demon studied her for a moment. The scrutiny of her gaze made Alex extremely uncomfortable. Abaddon's head tilted slightly as she continued to study her, moving closer to get a good look

"What is so different about you? You're not normal."

Alex's chest heaved. "You're right. I'm not. I'm the girl that's gunna kick your ass. Ugh" The punch to the face caught her completely off guard. Her head snapped to the side. She spat the blood from her split lip out of her mouth before looking back up at the demon.

The sound of the Impala roaring to a stop outside caught their attention. "It's showtime." The demon hauled her up from her seat and drug her to the center of the room.

Sam's eyes found yours the moment they entered the room. His eyes drifted to the bruise forming on your left cheek. His nostrils flared as rage began to form inside of him. Dean's hand on his chest was the only thing that kept him from charging the demon.

"Abaddon! Dean yelled. "I'll send Henry over with the box. You do the same with Alex. No tricks."

"My only interest is Henry and the key. You three are free to go."

Henry seemed reluctant to move. "You can do this standing," Dean drew his gun, "or you can do it crawling. Your call."

Abaddon gave Alex a harsh shove, causing her to stumble to the floor when she put all of her weight on her injured foot. Sam grabbed Henry's arm and started dragging him along.

"Henry, I'm sorry."

"Save it."

Alex pushed herself to her feet and started limping forward. The instant Sam was within reach, he reached out to her and grasped her arm as if it was they anchor holding him to this earth. Henry gave her a nearly imperceptible smile before he continued to move towards Abaddon. Sam quickly cut Alex's bonds and practically carried her to where Dean stood waiting for them before they all moved towards the door. She pleaded with them to stop. That they didn't know what they were doing.

"Shut your mouth," said Dean. "Let's go."

They were just feet from the door when it suddenly slammed closed in front of them. Dean screamed in rage as he turned towards the demon. "We had a deal!"

She laughed. "Surprise. I lied." By this time Henry was standing beside her. She plunged her hand into his abdomen. Alex screamed his name in horror. _Now we know why he never came back._ She wanted to go to him. Even though her magic was gone, the urge to do all she could to heal him was still there. Sam's arms tightened around her.

"Wait. Wait."

The demon removed her hand from the Winchester's side. A small trickle of blood escaped his lips as he gasped in pain. Choosing that moment to strike. Henry freed himself from the cuffs and produced the gun he had hidden behind his back.

"You're not the only one."

He fired one round into the underside of Abaddon's chin. Her skull glowed for a moment before she shook her head and returned to normal.

"Whoo! What a blast. Now, give me the box." She reached into Henry's pocked. Her hand soon landed on a box. Pulling it out, she turned it over ot see that it was merely a pack of playing cards that had been painted on one side to look like the box containing the key. "Where is it?!" she screamed.

Lights began erupting around the room with her rage. The hunters covered their heads to shield themselves from the sparks as the demon tried to use her abilities to extract the truth from Henry's mind. The smoke that came from her mouth only moved a foot or so away from her face befor curling back towards her. She shoved Henry to the ground. Sam quickly hurried towards his grandfather. Dean put Alex's arm around his shoulder and helped her move forward.

Abaddon tried to move foreward to attack them only to find she was unable to move. "Why am I stuck?!"

"Devil's trap carved into the bullet," Henry offered weakly as Sam pulled him into a seated position. He began to shudder as if he were cold.

Dean stopped to let Alex kneel next to Sam and Henry, offering what little assistance she could. "No, but you'll wish we did." He drew his machete and with one mighty blow, severed her head from her shoulders. "The demon trap in your noggin is gunna keep you from smoking out. We're gunna cut you into little steaks and bury each strip under cement. You might not be dead, but you'll wish you were.

"We did it."

Henry's weak voice drew Dean's attention. He crouched on the opposite side of his brother and helped him support the dying man. "No, you did it. For a bookworm, that wasn't bad, Henry."

He smiled. "I'm sorry I judged you two so harshly for being hunters. I should have known better."

"Hey none of that," Alex said. "They can be pretty stubborn sometimes." They all shared a laugh at her joke until Henry began to cough blood. She placed her hands on his wound and tried with all her might to will it closed, but nothing happened. "I wish I still had my powers. If I did you'd be able to go home." A tear escaped the corner of her eye.

Henry took hold of her hands. "You're power is not really gone," he said. "Just hidden. What Crowley took… the soul is not that simple. There is no way he could remove something entirely." His eyes drifted to Sam and then back to her, trying to make her realize his meaning before turning his full attention to the younger of his two grandsons. "You found yourself an amazing woman, Sam."

He looked from his grandfather to the woman at his side. "I know." A few more tears ran down Alex's cheeks.

Henry took the boys hands. "I meant what I said about judging you. You're not just hunters. You're also Winchesters. As long as we're alive, there's always hope." The boys shared a meaningful look. "I didn't know my son as a man, but having met you two…," He took one of each of the boy's hands into his own. "… I know I would have been proud of him." And with that, Henry Winchester, the last of the Men of Letters died surrounded by what remained of his family.

* * *

The hammer struck the cross a final time before Sam moves to stand next to Alex and Dean. The grave was simple. There were no dates. No quotes or sayings. Just a name. _H. Winchester. _

"I get it now," Sam said as he looked down at the grave.

Alex turned to look up at him. "Get what, Sam?"

"What Cupid said about Heaven busting ass to get Mom and Dad together. The Winchesters and the Campbell's – the brains and the brawn." Everyone fell silent for a moment. "Maybe it explains us too."

The words took Alex by surprise as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The gesture was not unwelcome. Just unfamiliar. Henry's words came back to her mind. _"You're power is not really gone," he said. "Just buried. What Crowley took… the soul is not that simple. There is no way he could remove something entirely."_ As her mind wandered, Alex began to hum a familiar tune for the Winchester clan. One that Henry had started long ago with his son.

**Let me know what y'all think.**


	12. Chapter 11

_Guest: Thank you so much for your review. I'm glad you like the Mayfair stories. I hadn't heard from anyone in so long, I thought nobody was reading. As you can see I am continuing the story. Sorry for the wait. Lack of feedback and writers block was making it hard to write. Hope to hear from you again soon._

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 11_

It had been two days since Henry's death. There had been a lot of discussion as to whether or not it would be wise to head to the coordinates. Ultimately, the decided to make the trip to Lebanon and see what was so important that an entire secret society had died to keep it safe.

Dean pulled the Impala to a stop in front of an old concrete structure. The place actually looked more like a fortress than anything else. A small set of steps lead down to a heavy metal door. What appeared to be a tall concrete building stood several yards behind it. From what Alex could see, at least part of the structure was underground.

She was down to using only one crutch as she made her way over to the boys.

"When's the last time somebody was in this place?" Dean asked.

"Sixty-five, seventy years ago," Sam offered.

They moved down the small set of stairs and stood before the door. Dean opened the box and removed the key. They boys readied their flashlights and weapons. Alex flipped on her own flashlight and agreed to stay behind the boys as they entered the dark room.

The door opened into a dark, cavernous space. A railing in front of them showed the end of a walkway that overlooked a massive lower level. It took them all by surprise. Not in their wildest dreams had they imagined it would look anything like this.

Sam discovered some old communications equipment stashed in a corner before making his way down the stairs. Dean and Alex split up. There was a chess board and abandoned coffee mug sitting in a dusty corner of the room. "Wow," Dean said. "Halfway through their coffee and a game of chess. Looks like whoever was manning the hub left quick."

"They were probably answering the distress call from Abaddon's attack," reasoned Alex. Her flashlight landed on a switch box mounted to the wall. She paused with her hand on the switch. "Hold onto your butts." A small spark emitted from the board when she threw the switch. The space suddenly became ensconced in light. She tripped the final lever and turned off her flashlight before turning to survey her surroundings.

Sam could hardly believe his eyes. "Son of a bitch." The space seemed to go on forever. He didn't notice his brother coming to stand beside him.

"Sammy, I think we found the Bat Cave."

"The Bat Cave?" Alex asked as she started to make her way down the stairs. "Screw that. This is better than the Bat Cave. Henry said this place was warded against everything. It's the fucking Fortress of Solitude." She waived Sam off when he came to help her down the final few steps that lead to the ground level.

The trio moved farther into the space and found another room. A massive library with a collection that would have made Bobby envious opened up before them.

"Whoa."

They spent the next few hours exploring the bunker. The scope of the place was astounding. It had everything. A shooting range, gym, garage, a kitchen, and anything else you could possibly need. It had to of taken years to build it, possibly decades.

One corridor was living quarters with enough space for each of them to have their own bed for the night. For once nobody was going to have to sleep on the couch. They all went back to the Impala and gathered their things for the night.

Alex paused at the doorway to Sam's room and watched him for a moment. His back was to her as he unpacked his things. She thought about asking him if he wanted company, but decided against it. Sharing a bed for one night because there was nowhere else to sleep and one kiss in the heat of the moment did not erase everything that stood between them.

The sound of footsteps slowly moving away from his door caught Sam's attention. He looked over his shoulder and saw that no one was there. "Alex?" He moved towards the doorway and looked towards the right. Nobody was there. He looked the other direction as he started to go back into his room and did a double take as he saw her walking the opposite direction down the long hallway.

He watched as she waved at Dean and moved down to the next room. Sam tried not to read too much into it, but he found himself analyzing the situation. _Why would Alex go all the way down the hall when there is a room right there?_ The only thing he could come up with was that she wanted to be away from him. He was pulled from his thoughts when Dean passed him saying that he was going to go get them some food.

Sam started to turn and go back into his room, but instead decided to take advantage of the time without his brother and have a serious talk with the woman who plagued his thoughts. She was just pulling her toiletry bag out of her duffle when she noticed him leaning on the door-frame.

"Hey."

"Hi," she said. "I thought you left with Dean."

Sam shook his head. "No. Actually, I was wondering if we could talk."

Even with her back to him, Sam could see the tension in her face. He could picture perfectly the way her jaw clenched before she put on her most indifferent face and turned to look at him.

"Okay." She took a seat on the bed. "What about?"

"Us."

She nodded and looked at the floor. Sam came and sat on the opposite side of the bed. He wanted to sit next to her and hold her hand, reassure her that he was where he wanted to be. But he also knew he needed to give her space. "I didn't realize there was an us." Those words cut him deep.

"I don't see why there can't be."

It was exactly what Alex had been hoping to hear. Every fiber of her being called out to her, urging her to turn around and throw herself into his arms. The voice inside her head was the only thing that kept her from doing so. It was the voice that said he could change his mind. It was Crowley's voice telling her that while she was tied to him, he was no longer tied to her. If he willingly left, she wasn't sure if she could take it.

"What about Amelia?"

Sam was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You love her Sam." He started to protest, but she continued. "Okay, maybe that was too strong a word. But you can't tell me she doesn't mean anything to you. You shared almost a year of your life with her Sam. You had a house, a dog, the normal life you always wanted. That's not something that's in the cards for me. I love you, Sam. I really do, but I don't want to wonder if you're thinking about her at night when you're holding me. I can't live like that Sam. I want to be your first choice."

The words struck an all too familiar chord. "That's exactly what she said." That got Alex's attention. She watched as Sam stared into the distance, losing himself in the memory. "When you left I went to see her. It was so easy to just fall back into everything with her. I wanted to. I wanted to just live my life and forget that anything had happened. She knew about you, not that you were a hunter or anything. Just that I had loved you. Somehow she got the idea that you and Dean were on a mission together in the military and never came home, so that's what I let her believe. I never told her about hunting. When I told her you were alive, she told me to make a choice because she didn't want to wonder if I was going to take off running the moment you called."

"And what did you decide?"

"Dean called saying you needed our help. I told her goodbye and I left." Alex nodded. She was debating turning and kissing him when she felt the mattress move as he stood. "You needed help so I left without a second thought. I can't help but think there is more to what's going on than you're telling me." She seemed surprised. "I know you too well for you to ever really hide anything from me, Alex. Just know that I'll be here when you're ready. I'm here because I chose to me. This is my life. It's what I want." And with that, he walked out the door.

The night had been full of memories. Every dream Alex had was a memory of her and Sam. She relived their first meeting, first dance, his death, their first time, dying for him, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. All of it. But they were all shaded. There was a shadow looming over all of it. Every memory was tainted by Crowley's words and her own fear that one day Sam would walk away.

She kept hearing his voice say the only reason any of those wonderful memories had happened was because their souls were bound together. If Sam had been given a choice, he never would have chosen her. All of those memories would be nothing more than fantastical dreams filling her head each night. Those words gave birth to the nightmare that had awakened her. She had watched as Sam and a woman she assumed was Amelia laughed at her. Sam's velvety voice saying she was just a placeholder until he could have what he really wanted.

Alex had bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat, after seeing Sam kiss her. The image still played in her mind when she walked into the library to see Sam going through the dusty volumes.

"Hey."

He looked up at her. "Hey."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out where all of this came from."

She moved closer to him. "Want some help?"

"Sure."

They spent the next hour trying to trace the source of the power keeping the bunker alive. Alex used Sam's laptop to track the source while Sam tried to look through the ledgers for construction records, but they found nothing. Everything seemed to be a dead end.

Dean entered the room in a gray bathrobe. "Morning."

"Morning," answered Sam without really looking up.

Alex looked at Dean out of the corner of her eye. She did a double take. "Where the hell did you get that?"

"I found it hanging in the bathroom." Alex shook her head and went back to work. "By the way, the uh water pressure in the Letters' shower room is marvelous."

"Yeah. I still can't figure out how we even have water," Sam said as he carried another volume to the table, "or electricity."

"It's insane," Alex said. "None of the county records show this place. It's completely off the grid. From what I can tell, they don't even have records of lines coming out this way."

"Are you online?" asked Dean. Alex nodded. "They had internet in the 50's?"

With an exasperated sigh, Alex held up her phone and wiggled it at him. "Hotspot."

"Oh well," Dean nodded, "I am putting that under the 'ain't broke' column. Listen, guys, let's not go all geek on this stiff, okay?"

"Geek?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Dean started looking around the room. "I mean, don't – don't get me wrong." He lifted a scimitar from it's display stand." This stuff is awesome, and it looks like they ran a real tight outfit here, but I'm just saying, you know, don't uh, don't think that they knew some big secrets that we don't know."

He started to waive the sword around, making Alex very nervous. "Dean, put that thing down before you cut your leg off." Sam turned to see what his brother was doing. Dean quickly pulled himself out of the pose he had been striking. Alex just shook her head and went back to the computer.

"Dean," began Sam, "they were a secret society."

"Which means they made crap up and wore fezzes and sashes and swung around scimitars."

Alex didn't even look up from her typing. "That you still need to put down."

"They probably didn't even sharp –" Dean started to run his finger along the blade expecting it to be dull. He quickly jerked his hand away when he cut his finger on the razor sharp edge. "That's very sharp." Alex raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a look as if to say oh _really?_ Before shaking her head and getting back to work while Dean put the sword back on it's stand.

Alex closed the laptop and stood. "I'm gunna go fix us some breakfast." She left the room.

The boys proceeded to discuss the validity of the knowledge housed within the structure. Dean remained skeptical of the whole affair while Sam seemed eager to uncover all the bunker had to offer. "Dean look, I think we might have something here – something that could help us, help humanity."

"He's got a point, Dean." Alex said as she came back into the room, carefully balancing three plates of food with the arm not holding her crutch. Sam rushed to help her. She smiled at him in thanks. "You know damned well that we could us a break. What if this place is it?" She wasn't just thinking about hunting. Sam and the missing pieces of their souls were never far from her thoughts. Henry's words about nothing ever being truly lost had been playing on repeat as she's made the eggs and bacon. Perhaps this place could tell her how to put everything back together.

Dean's voice suddenly pulled her from her thoughts. "Man, Alex, I've missed your cooking." She gave him a small smile.

"Yeah," Sam said. A beat passed. "I've missed you."

The smile left her face as she turned her awe struck gaze to his. She could tell from his expression that he was being sincere. She just wasn't sure how much of it she could put faith in.

After two weeks, the bunker was starting to feel more like home. It was becoming comfortable. A routine began to develop. Every morning Sam would rise early and go for a run. Alex would make breakfast while Dean started going through boxes full of random artifacts. Later on, Sam and Alex would start indexing everything so that they could find it more easily in the future.

They were doing just that when Dean came into the room with his phone to his ear. "Okay. Bye." He ended the call. "So that was Kevin?"

Alex looked up from her work. "How is he?" She'd always had a soft spot for the prophet and often thought about him. Sam had told her a little about what had happened while she'd been away. Him going off on his own was regrettable, but ultimately she could see the need for it.

"You know. He's okay. I guess. In his corner, hacking out his Da Vinci code."

"Has he found anything?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head as he pulled a beer out of the fridge. "Nothing actionable yet." He took a drink of the cool liquid. He tilted the bottle towards Alex. "Garth says hi by the way."

"Oh he called?"

"Yeah he's with Kevin. He's trying to find something on Cas, but he's coming up empty."

Alex became confused. "He's trying to find a way to get him out?"

The boys looked at each other. Surely they'd mentioned his return at some point, but as they thought about it, they realized that they had indeed forgotten to mention it. They'd been so caught up in Henry, Abaddon, and the bunker that it had completely slipped their minds.

"Uh," Sam cleared his throat. "Cas is back."

"What? How?"

"We don't know. That's one of the things we've been working on."

She looked to Dean. "Have you tried praying to him? He's always listened to you more than the rest of us."

"Yeah. He's not answering."

"And there's no clue as to how he got back?"

"Nope."

They all fell into silence for a while until Sam presented them with a case he had found. Alex jumped at the opportunity to get back out there, but Sam was quick to stop her. "You're not going."

"Like hell."

She was bowing up for a fight until Dean stepped in. "He's right, Alex. You just started limping around here without the crutches. You're not going on a hunt until we know you're at 100%."

For a moment, she thought about arguing. Pain went through her leg when she shifted her stance and put her full weight on it. "Fine. I'll stay here. Just promise me the two of you will be careful." Her eyes drifted to Sam. He gave her a weak smile.

"I promise."

Alex filled her time alone with study and strengthening her injured leg. She and Sam had done a pretty good job figuring out the library before the boys left. There were a few books in particular she'd stumbled across in that time that she now found herself reading in depth.

While going through the dusty volumes, Alex had happened to flip a manuscript open at random. A word caught her eye. _Soulmates._ It confirmed everything she already knew about soulmates sharing a Heaven and being drawn together. There were countless stories to support it. But that wasn't what she was really after. She wanted to know if Henry had been right.

She decided to broaden her search to souls in general. That was when she stumbled upon a journal written by Leo Tolstoy. Her eyes went wide. She shook her head. _There's no way._ Careful not to damage the delicate leather binding, she took the book down from the shelf. The first line was a quote from the famous author that she knew all too well. _All, everything I understand, I understand only because I love._ It then continued on into something more that she'd never seen before. _My soul is irrevocably bound to another's. Because of this, I have gained insight into the human soul that few have obtained._

Alex began walking to the table as she read. Her eyes never left the age yellowed pages as she pulled out a chair and sat. Each sentence made her feel more hope than the one before.

_The soul is more than a small piece of the human animal. It is a complicated web of emotion and spirit that gives us life. While there are several aspects of the soul that are moved by various entities, it is as a whole, a tangled web that is impossible to untangle. Each thread leads to the next and leaves an indelible mark upon it until it is impossible to distinguish one from another._

_Some areas of the soul are more strongly connected than others. It is a concentration of spirit that radiates throughout the human body, but it is not the only place in which these aspects can be found. It is therefore impossible to eradicate a single portion of the soul. It's shadow would still loom of the expanse of existence._

She read the passage again and again, her body becoming lighter as she did. There was hope. Crowley may have not succeeded after all. A smile formed on her face. Perhaps things would work out in the end. Now she just had to figure out what all of that meant for her, for Sam, and for the woman he'd left behind. Then she read something that made her doubts return again

_That being said, to remove a portion of the soul is to damage it beyond repair. To have something as vital as one's own essence removed _

_would not leave them unchanged. While the shadow would yet remain, the entity in and off itself would be forever altered._

Alex closed the book and hung her head in despair. The only way to fix this was to get the piece of Sam's soul back. She just didn't know how she was going to get it.

"Alex we're back!" Dean yelled as he walked into the bunker, Sam close behind him. There was no answer.

"Alex!" Sam called.

They moved into the library looking for the woman. A faint thudding sound could be heard coming from somewhere inside the bunker. Sam signaled for Dean to be quite. "Alex!" More thudding. "You hear that?"

"Yeah."

Drawing their weapons, the boys slowly started moving towards the sound. They stopped outside the closed gym door. Dean signaled silent countdowns to Sam before slamming the door open.

They both put their guns away when they found that the sound was nothing more than Alex punching and kicking one of the heavy bags. Her back was to them, headphones in her ears, as she worked the bag. Left. Left. Right. Left. Kick. Kick. Right. She stopped when she heard the door bang against the wall.

She turned to them with a smile. "Hey guys." She took the buds out of her ears. "How was the hunt?" They looked at each other briefly before telling her it was fine in perfect unison. She knew the boys well enough to know that when they did something like that there was a story there, but she let it go. _They made it home. That's what's important._

"Looks like you're on the mend," said Dean.

Alex looked down at her workout clothes and then back to the boys. "Yeah. I'm feeling pretty good."

Sam's eyes had followed Alex's when she had looked down. The tight black athletic pants and tank top left little to his imagination. Her taught stomach was exposed to his gaze. There were a few scars there that he didn't remember seeing before, but it had been quite some time since he'd been privileged to the sight. His imagination flashed with images of the two of them together.

Alex realized that Sam had fallen quite. "You okay, Sam?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Uh, I-I'm good."

Dean could feel the tension in the room and decided to make an exit. "Well," he slapped Sam on the shoulder, "guess I'll let you get back to it. Don't hurt yourself."

She assured them she wouldn't and went back to what she was doing, unaware that Sam had lingered a few minutes longer to watch her.

Alex finished her workout and decided to go back to her room and get cleaned up before making dinner. It felt good to sweat and be active. She'd missed it. Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye as she passed Dean's room. She did a double take and about tripped she was so surprised by what she saw.

"Wow."

Dean placed the photo he'd been looking at on the table and turned to her. He spread his arms in a gesture that displayed the room around him. "What do you think?"

The room was actually quite impressive. There was nothing fancy about it, but then again there was nothing fancy about the hunter it was meant for. Dean's favorite weapons were mounted on the wall. A simple bed sat against the center of the back wall. The shelf above it and the desk held various knick-knacks and mementos. Everything about the room screamed hunter. It screamed Dean Winchester.

Alex nodded as a smile formed on her face. "It's you."

"I know right!"

She couldn't help but chuckle at the excitement he showed. It was a rarity for her to see her friend this way. It was something she wished she could see more often.

"What do you know?" Sam asked as he came to stand beside Alex in the doorway. "Wow." Dean was practically bursting with pride. "Not bad." His face fell.

"Not bad?" Alex put a hand over her mouth to stop the laugh that was threatening to break forth as she prepared herself for what she knew would be a rather amusing reaction from the elder Winchester. "I haven't had my own room… ever. Not even at Bobby's. Sorry, Alex."

She waived it off. "It's okay. I've got to get used to it sometime."

Dean nodded. He hated making his best friend sad. Finding out that they'd lost Bobby had hit her hard, but she was slowly getting used to the idea that he was gone. As much as he had hated her living to go up there on her own, seeing what was left of the place she had once called home helped give her some closure.

"Anyway," he continued, "I'm making this awesome. I got my kickass vinyl. I've got this killer mattress." He sat on the bed and petted it affectionately. "Memory foam. " He pointed to his chest. "It remembers me."

Alex's attempt to hold back the laughter ended as a small strained chuckle escaped. _You're such a dork._

"And it's clean, too. There's no funky smell. There's no creepy motel stains."

"Enough hot water for all three of us," added Alex.

"Exactly. This place is awesome!"

Taking a small wrapper from his pocket, Sam took the piece of gum he had been chewing out of his mouth and tossed it towards the small wastebasket near the dresser. He missed, but it didn't seem to bother him. Sam just shrugged before resuming his lean against the door-frame.

"Really?" Dean asked in exasperation.

Sam held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry." He picked up the wrapper and put it in the trashcan. Examining the room again as he stood, he had to admit that it was pretty nice. He just wasn't going to say anything to his brother. It was more fun to make him twitch anyway.

Dean huffed as he rose to his feet. "I'm gunna go fix us some grub." He walked past Alex and started moving down the hall.

"Okay." Alex suddenly realized what he said. "Wait a minute. Did you say you were going to cook?" He didn't answer. She turned to Sam and found him examining the photo Dean had been looking at when she arrived. "You've got poison control on speed dial right?" she joked. Sam looked up at her for a moment before looking back at the picture. "What's that?" She moved closer and looked over his shoulder to the photo of a beautiful blond woman holding a young boy.

"It's Mom." He picked up the photo.

"Is that Dean?"

"Yeah. I didn't know he had this." He put the photo back down. _They both look so happy._

Alex could see the pensiveness in the set of his shoulders and looked up at him. "You okay?" she asked as she placed a hand on his arm.

He covered her hand with his much larger one. "Yeah I'm good." He gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go of it and nodding towards the door. "Why don't you go get cleaned up. I'll make sure Dean's not trying to kill us."

She nodded and walked away. Pausing at the door, she turned and looked at Sam over her shoulder to give him a reassuring smile. Seeing the photo had put him in a mood. They had once had a conversation about how all of the bad in his families lives was because of him.

It was shortly after Dean's deal had come due. Sam had made his way through most of a bottle of Scotch and confessed that he thought everyone would be better off if he had never been born. They'd gotten into a pretty big fight over that. She knew by the look on his face that he was having one of those moments again. He couldn't help but think that way sometimes, and it broke her heart.

Another shelf worth of books were spread out on the table in front of Sam and Alex. While they had already gone through and indexed a good portion of the library already, there was still a lot for them to go through. It would take them a long time to work their way through all of it.

"Hey a little help here," Dean called from the doorway. Alex looked up from the book in front of her and found Dean standing in the doorway, a plate of food in each hand and a third balanced on his right forearm. She quickly moved to help the man carry the plates over to the table.

He sat one of the plates in front of his brother. "What are you reading?"

"Sort of, uh, everything," said Sam.

"Oh, good. Somebody's gunna have to dig through all of this, and it ain't gunna be me."

Alex took her seat across from Sam and watched as he slowly examined the burger that had been placed in front of him. "You made these."

"We have a real kitchen now."

"Yeah I know," said Alex. "I'm the one who spends the most time in it." She looked from the hunter to her plate and back suspiciously. "What did you do to it?"

"Nothing." Both his brother and his best friend looked at him in disbelief. "I'm nesting, okay? Eat."

It took them a moment to believe that the food was safe. Eventually Dean got tired of waiting for them to take a bite and decided to just dig in. Once they saw him take a bite, Sam and Alex followed suit. Alex suddenly became suspicious again when she saw Dean pause and smile at his brother. _What did he do?_ Then she heard the sound of pleasure coming from Sam.

Dean's smile grew. "Huh? Yeah."

"Wow," Sam said with a mouth full of food.

Alex took a bite of the burger. "Oh my god," she said. "This is really good Dean."

"You're welcome."

They ate in silence for a moment until something occurred to Alex. "Wait a minute. If you know how to cook then why the hell do I end up doing all of it?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know how to make pie."

She was just about to berate the man when his phone began to ring.

"Yo." Concern quickly took over his features. "What? Kevin?" That quickly got the other hunters' attention. "Kevin?!"

"Something wrong?" Sam asked.

"Guess."

They quickly stood, grabbed their plates, and made haste for the Impala.

The metal boat was eerily silent as Alex and the boys prepared to enter. They all drew their weapons as Dean led them into the room. There was no sign of the young prophet.

"Kevin?" Sam called out. "It's us." Still no answer.

They fanned out around the room and began looking for clues as to what had happened. Dean opened the door to another compartment and found Kevin on his knees puking his guts out.

"Found him."

Sam came over to his brother in the doorway and made a disgusted face when the boy continued to vomit into the toilet.

Now that the prophet was found, Alex started to take in the state of her surroundings. Trash and other unidentifiable objects littered the floor. Dirty dishes were piled everywhere. She'd know that he was staying on Garth's houseboat, but now that she'd see it, she was pissed.

"You guys left him alone in this?" She gestured to the room around them as Kevin continued to rid his stomach of it's contents. "When was the last time you checked on him?" The boys fell silent and looked away from the enraged woman. "That's what I thought."

The young man in question stumbled from the bathroom and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Hey guys. Hi Alex."

She quickly returned his weak smile. "Come here you." She held out her arms and made her way over to the young man. Her arms quickly came around him in a fierce hug. As she held him close, a foul stench invaded her nostrils and forced her to pull away. "Dude you smell."

"Yeah. Sorry," he replied in a nasally voice

"When was the last time you took a shower?"

He sniffed. "Not sure. I don't really remember." He took a few steps and fell into a chair that was seated at what appeared to be his work desk as he wiped blood away from his nose with his sleeve.

"Wow!" Dean exclaimed. "You look like hammered crap." Alex smacked him on the arm. He raised his arms and gestured as if to say _well he does._

Sam, on the other hand, was watching the young boy carefully. There were dark circles under his puffy, half lidded eyes, and they seemed so unfocused that he wasn't sure how the young man was still functioning.

"Are you sleeping?"

"Not really?"

"Are you eating?" Dean asked his own concern now raised.

"Hot dogs mostly."

Alex sighed and exchanged a look with Sam and Dean who was now running a hand down his face. "Sure, yeah - breakfast of champions. Look, I'm gunna feel dirty saying this, but you might want a salad."

"And a shower," added Alex.

Kevin nodded. He knew that he had been neglecting himself, but the mission was important. They were going to close the gates of Hell for crying out loud. What was a little less sleep compared to that?

"I'm serious, Kevin," Alex said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're no good to anyone if you kill yourself trying to read that tablet."

"I know, and I've been getting bad headaches and nosebleeds, and I think maybe I had a small stroke. But it was worth it."

"What was worth it?" Sam asked.

A grin spread across the prophet's face as he turned towards the veritable giant. "I figured out how to close the gates of hell."

Alex grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Are you serious?" His smile grew as he nodded.

Kevin looked to Dean. The older Winchester just stared at him. "You…" A smile broke out on the man's face. "Come here, you smelly son of a bitch." Dean grabbed him and hugged the boy so tight he actually lifted him off the ground.

Sam began clapping while Alex just laughed at the sight. "Okay, okay," said Sam. "So, what does this mean? What are we looking at?"

They followed the young man to the wall of notes Alex had noticed earlier. He started talking them through what he had found. Alex's eyes went wide when he said it was a spell. If that was really all it took, she should be able to have this finished by dinner time. He handed a piece of paper to Dean. She and Sam read it over his shoulder.

"It's just a few words of Enochian, but…"

She didn't like the way he trailed off. "But what, Kevin?"

"The spell has to be spoken after you finish each of the three trials."

Sam's brows knit together. "T-trials like, uh, like _Law and Order_?"

They just wished it was that easy. Apparently it was going to be a little more in-depth than that. Kevin compared them to the trials of Hercules. "The tablet says, _Whosoever chooses to undertake these tasks should fear not danger, nor death, nor…_ a word I think means getting your spine ripped out through your mouth for all eternity."

"Good times," Dean said flatly.

"Yeah," said Alex. "Sounds like fun."

The prophet went on to describe a series of three tests that they would have to pass. Once each trial was completed, the person undertaking them would speak the spell. It sounded simple, but if a lifetime as hunters had taught them anything, it was that there was always a catch. That catch was the first trial.

"You've got to kill a hound of hell and bathe in its blood."

Alex shivered at the mention of the beasts she had once controlled. The image of Jo's face when she set one on her flashed across her mind, still every bit as vivid as the day it had happened. She paid no attention to the Winchester's arguing until Kevin asked them how they would find one.

"Crossroads," she said. The boys turned to look at her and found her staring off into the distance with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hellhounds are the preferred choice for collecting a debt. Our best bet is to find somebody that made a deal 10 years ago and wait for Fido to answer the dinner bell." She uncrossed her arms and took a few steps towards the boys. "It won't be easy, but it's at least it's somewhere to start."

Dean clapped Alex and his brother on the shoulder. "Okay, sounds good. You get on the net," he said as he pulled away. "See what you can dig up." He gestured to the door behind him. "I'm gunna go for a supply run because we need goofer dust, and the kid needs to eat something that's not ground-up hooves and pigs' anusess." He started to leave, but paused and turned back to his companions. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Just go get the kid some food, Dean," Alex said with a sigh. He gave her a little salute and left, closing the door behind him. She turned back to the young boy she'd grown so fond of a while back. "Go get yourself cleaned up. We can hold down the fort for a while."

He looked skeptical. "You sure."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. We're good." Kevin thanked them and went to go get cleaned up. "Hey." He looked back. "Mind if we use your computer for a bit?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Go ahead."

"Thanks."

Once the door to the lavatory was closed, Sam and Alex exchanged a rather concerned look. "I'm worried about him," she said as she took a seat behind the computer.

"Yeah me too. The sooner we can get this thing over with the better of he'll be." She nodded.

They spent the next half hour taking turns researching and bouncing ideas off of each other and trying to find leads. It was a slow process, but each search they did yielded a few more results than the last. They paused in their work when Kevin reemerged saying how much better he felt now that he was human again. Alex looked up from the computer and gave him a soft smile before going back to her search.

"Hey, Kevin," Sam said, "buddy, you got to slow down."

"What?"

"Get some shut-eye. Take a day off. Open a window."

"He's right, Kevin. You've got to start taking better care of yourself," Alex said.

"No." The boy was visibly upset by their words. "You said nuking Hell - that's how I get out. That's how I go home."

Sam leaned across the table towards him. "Right, it is, but you can't live like this."

"You think I want to?" He stood once more and began to shout. "I hate it here. I can't leave because every demon on the planet wants to peel my face off. I can't talk to anyone except you guys or Garth, when he swings by, or my mom. Right? And when she calls, all she does is cry. I just… I need this to be over."

His words wounded Alex's heart. She knew what it was like to feel trapped in a life you never chose. It was not something she would ever wish on anyone. Her one comfort in that time had been that she wasn't alone. She'd had Sam and Dean there supporting her and carrying her through. Kevin was allowed no such luxury. He'd been forced to hide away in a floating metal box while the world went crazy all around him.

She took hold of his hand and drew his attention down to where she still sat in front of the computer. "It will be over soon, Kevin. I promise."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm going to end it for you."

There was authority in her speech leaving no room for argument. The certainty with which she spoke actually scared Sam. He worried about what she might be planning. His thoughts were cut short when Dean came barging back in through the door.

"Did you know there are, like, 6000 kinds of tomatoes?" he asked as he sat the bags of groceries down in front of them. Alex handed the computer to Sam and took the bags to the kitchen area to start making them all a real meal. "Did you find anything?"

Sam began to explain a lead in Idaho that you had found. It was decided that the three of you would leave shortly after dinner. The game clock was winding down and you needed to be there when the buzzer sounded.

Once dinner was done, Alex gave Kevin a giant hug. "Take care of yourself okay? I mean it."

He nodded against her shoulder. "Okay."

With one final pat on the back, she moved away to let the boys say goodbye. Sam gave him a quick hug and told him to call if he needed anything before joining Alex at the door. Dean picked up one final bag from the table and headed towards him.

"Work on step number 2, and, uh, if you come across anything about Hellhounds, drop a dime, okay? 'Cause between the - the claws and the teeth and the whole invisibility thing, those bitches can be… real bitches. I mean Alex can see them, but Sam and I are screwed."

Kevin's head snapped in her direction. "You can see Hellhounds?"

"Mayfair," she shrugged. He nodded as if that one word had explained everything.

Dean reached into the shopping bag and pulled out two bottles. "I got you a present." He handed the first bottle to Kevin. "The, uh, blue ones are for the headaches, and the greens are for pep." He handed him the second bottle. "Don't O.D." He smacked Kevin on the arm and went to join the others at the door.

"Thanks?" Keven said, a little unsure of what was going on. First Sam and Alex tell him to take it easy. Then Dean does this? He was so confused.

The trio of hunters closed the door behind them and headed for the Impala.

"You sure about that?" Sam asked.

"About what?" Dean replied as he opened the driver's side door."

Alex slid into the back seat. "The drugs you just gave Kevin." He gave her a questioning look in the rearview mirror. "The kid is killing himself to translate that tablet. Literally. Don't you think giving him something that could put him in the grave that much faster is overkill?"

"Alex, we are on the one-yard-line. It is time to play through the pain."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered under her breath.

Most of her words were drowned out by the sound of the Impala starting up, but Sam had caught what she said. He turned and gave her a sympathetic look. He agreed with her. Kevin was going to drive himself to an early grave if he wasn't careful. All they could do now was try to finish these trials as quickly as possible so it could all be over.

**Tell me what you think. Your feedback keeps me writing.**


	13. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait on this one. I had to rewrite the final scene about six times before I was happy with it. I hope y'all enjoy.

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 12_

The large wrought iron gate read _Cassity Farm_ in giant gold letters. Truth be told, it didn't look much like a farm to any of them. When they heard the word farm they thought of cows and corn fields. Not the mansion sized home and fancy gates they saw before them. Dean brought the Impala to a stop a few yards from the house.

"All right," he said, "keep an eye out. Anybody with a Hellhound on their ass is gunna be showing signs. Alex," she perked up in the back seat, "you see any of those four legged monsters you let me know."

She gave him a mock salute. "Aye. Aye, Captain."

Dean rolled his eyes and started to get out of the car.

"What if we find someone?" Sam asked.

"You get 'em clear." He stashed the demon-killing knife in his jacket's inner pocket. "I spike fido. The crowd goes wild."

Stepping out of the Impala, they took in their surroundings. Not many people seemed to be milling about. A faint ratcheting sound was coming from a nearby tractor. They moved towards the sound and saw a pair of work boots sticking out from under the metal beast.

"Hey, pal, who runs this joint?" Dean asked.

The owner of the boots slid out from under the tractor. "You're looking at her." Alex's eyes went wide at the sight of the beautiful Hispanic woman. She was not what she was expecting, and judging by Sam's reaction, she wasn't what he thought they would find either.

"You… own the ranch?" he asked.

"Nope." She wiped her hands on an old rag. "Just manage the property. You guys here about the job?"

Dean quickly jumped in. "How'd you guess?"

"We get our share of drifters." She studied Alex for a moment. "Not many women though. Any of you ever worked a farm before?"

She saw through the BS pretty quickly when Dean tried to blow one past her. Alex quickly jumped in, assuring her that they were hard workers that learned fast and wouldn't disappoint. It didn't look like she believed them, but after a few moments she told them to follow her.

The hunters followed her towards the barn. They asked a few probing questions along the way to see what they could learn about the Cassitys. She managed the property for them and had done so for some time. So she knew a fair bit about them. Apparently the family was scattered to the four winds, but one of the daughters and her husband still lived in the main house. Walking into the barn, she stopped near a door and slowly pushed it open to reveal a small room with four simple beds.

"You bed down here," She said. "Breakfast is at 5:00. Dinner is at 8:00. In between, your mine. Any questions?"

Dean looked around what would be their living quarters and his face fell. "I miss my room."

The woman looked at him strangely. Sam quickly jumped to cover for his brother by assuring her that they understood. The job she was offering wasn't great, but it was their way in. Besides, earning some honest money once in a while couldn't hurt.

"We'll take the job," said Sam.

"Good." The woman extended her hand towards him. "I'm Ellie."

"Sam," he said as he shook her hand before introducing the others in turn.. " This is Alex, and that's my brother Dean."

Once everyone was acquainted, she advised them to get their stuff unloaded. She had work for them to do.

* * *

Dean muttered under his breath as he took another heaping shovel of manure and lifted it into the wheelbarrow. When Ellie had told them that it was crap work he didn't think she was being quite so literal. They'd been cleaning out the stables for the last half hour, and they were still nowhere near done. Resting his shovel against the wall, he wiped the sweat from his brow.

A horse stuck their head out to see what was going on. Dean walked up to the animal and said, "I hate you."

"No he doesn't," Alex said as she came over and began petting the animals snout. "He's just cranky because he has to work for once."

Dean became a bit agitated. "Hey! I work all the time!"

"Since when does having a beer and arguing with Sam count as work?" She flashed in a snarky grin before kissing the horse's nose and getting back to work.

Sam watched the exchange between the two of them with a smile. Seeing Alex mess with his brother like that was just pure delight. That is of course until Dean started to take it seriously.

"Hey. Hey. Hey," Sam said as he moved between them. "Relax okay? It's just a joke."

Dean was preparing to get in his brother's face when her heard Ellie arguing with someone.

"I don't care. Do I look like a hippie?"

The trio watched as a woman they knew to be Alice argued with Ellie over what they were feeding the horses. It ended when Alice pointed out that she was in fact the one paying for everything and walked away.

Ellie's shoulders slumped. She noticed her new workers watching her out of the corner of her eye and moved towards them.

"She's a real piece of work, huh?" asked Dean.

"Alice Cassity's a piece of something all right?"

Alex placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

Ellie gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I'm fine. Besides, what are we gunna do? She's the boss." She walked away.

They waited until they were sure that she was out of earshot before starting their new conversation.

"So," Sam said, "what are we thinking?"

"Alice is a bitch?" offered Alex.

Sam became annoyed and made one of his famous bitch faces. "No. I mean about who made the deal." When he saw Alex's grin widened, he knew he'd been had. His own mouth began to twitch up at the corners as he began to smile.

The smiles proved infections as Dean joined in. It made him happy to see the two of them making some sort of progress. Watching them dance around each other was becoming painful. Hopefully this little interaction meant that things would get back to normal soon. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Dean brought them back to the task at hand.

They went over their options. Ellie and Carl were quickly ruled out. The rest of the family wasn't around. That left only one person. Alice.

* * *

After dinner, they had decided to go come up with a gameplan. Each of them would take turns watching Alice. Dean was on the first watch of the night. He'd come get Sam in a few hours, and then Alex would take the final shift before breakfast.

Alex stretched out on her bed to relax and get a little sleep. The beds in the bunk were surprisingly comfortable. They had slept on far worse. She had just shut her eyes when she heard Sam speak up.

"Why are you shutting me out?"

Her eyes flew open as she turned to face the man sitting of the bed next to hers. "What?"

"I'm trying here, Alex. I just don't know what else you want from me. Every time we start to get close you pull away, and I want to know why."

She sighed as she pulled herself into a seated position. When she looked into Sam's eyes, she could see the longing for answers. Telling Sam about the missing piece of his soul was inevitable. He would have to know some day. He deserved to know. She was just hoping she could find a way to fix it before she told him.

Steeling her resolve, Alex opened her mouth to speak just as a howl could be heard in the distance. Sam watched her eyes go wide and her shoulders rigid.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear wha.." Sam trailed off as a second howl, far closer than the last sounded outside their door. His expression now mirrored hers. "Hellhound."

They scrambled to their feet, each grabbing their weapons as they went. They sprinted through the night in search of Dean, finding him peering around the side of the house. Sam gestured for her to follow him around the back so that they could meet up with his brother.

"You guys hear it too?" Dean asked as they came to stand beside him. They nodded.

"Where's Alice?" Alex asked as she double checked the ammunition in her gun.

Dean gestured to the figure walking across the grounds towards the barn. "Spread out. If you find the hound hollar." Sam and Alex nodded before the trio began fanning out in search of the creature.

A spec of movement in the corner of her eye caught Alex's attention. Her head snapped around to the side. The image wasn't clear, but there was a foggy outline of something moving on the other side of the house. She shook her head and looked again. It was still difficult to see, but she watched what she thought was a leg disappear around the veranda, a canine leg. _Oh shit._ She took off in a dead sprint for the house just as a man's scream of terror ripped through the night air

* * *

They watched in silence as the sheriff lifted the white sheet covering Carl's body and recoiled. Alex couldn't blame him. She'd been the one to find the body. His head had been nearly completely severed by the Hellhound's razor sharp claws. The sight had been so gruesome that it caused her to scream in terror as flashes of Dean and Joe's mutilated bodies suddenly swam before her eyes. Everyone had heard her scream and come running. Ellie had only been in the house and arrived first. Alex had regained her wits by then and tried to force her away from the scene, but it was too late. She had already seen what had become of the man.

Sam and Dean had arrived shortly after, Alice not far behind. Sam crashed Alex to his body and held her close, reassuring himself that she was alright. He'd given her a once over, checking for any injuries while Dean went around the corner. She called out to stop him, but he'd already caught sight of the body.

"Jesus," he'd said as he brought a fist to his mouth to stop the bile from rising. Dean had looked haunted as he approached his brother and Alex after that, no doubt reliving his own experience with the hounds.

Once the sheriff had arrived, he started interviewing Alex about what she had seen. She did her best to keep her answers as vague as possible as far as seeing a creature. She made up a story about how she was just walking around enjoying the evening air and getting familiar with the place when she had found him. Saying that she'd seen what she thought was a Hellhound head this way was a sure fire way to earn herself a one way ticket to the looney bin.

"God almighty," the man said as he started to stand.

Sam stood behind Alex, a protective arm around her waist. He hadn't seen the body. Based on his brother's reaction it was probably for the best. He was just grateful that Alex had not been any closer when the thing attacked. A chill actually moved across his spine at the thought of what could have happened.

"You said his head was practically ripped off?" he asked.

Alex looked up at him over her shoulder and nodded.

"And you are?" the sheriff asked.

"Just curious."

Ellie stepped in and explained how the three of them had been hired on just that morning. He gave the trio an appraising look before nodding. "Carl died bad. Let's leave it at that." He looked at Alex. "You gunna be okay, miss?"

She nodded as Sam pulled her a little closer, enjoying the feeling of protection and safety his embraced offered. "Yeah. I'll be fine in a few days."

Nodding again, he looked back down at the sheet covered body.

"They've been reintroducing wolves 'round these parts, but I never thought…"

Ellie cut him off. "This wasn't a wolf." Alex's eyes traveled from the sheet covered body to the woman standing a few feet away. There was a flicker of recognition in her eyes. Ellie clearly knew more than she was letting on. "I got to make some phone calls. The whole family's flying in for this."

"All the Cassity's under one roof," said the sheriff. "Good luck."

They watched as the body was loaded into the meat wagon and drove away. Dean waited until everyone else had cleared out before exploding.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Dean calm down," Sam said.

"Calm down? That was our one shot at finding this thing, and we blew it." He turned his attention to Alex. "I thought you could see these things. Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I wasn't sure if I actually saw it!" Alex shouted. Both brother's looked at her in question.

"What do you mean you weren't sure?" Dean asked. "I'd think a giant fucking demon dog would be pretty easy to identify."

She shook her head. "It's not that. It's just… it was all fuzzy. Like it was only a shadow or something. There was no real shape to it. Not like before. Before they were solid. Now, now it's like they're made of smoke."

"Hey it's okay," Sam said as he ran his hands up and down her arms in a soothing gesture. "We were all looking in the wrong place anyway. Right Dean?" He looked to his brother for confirmation. Instead all he got was a disgruntled reply.

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever." He began to walk away.

"Dean where are you going?"

He just kept walking as he spoke. "To find a way to fix this."

Alex let out a sigh and sagged against Sam's body. Dean was pissed. Understandably so. If anyone should have been able to spot what was really happening it should have been her. Instead, she'd let a kind man die. Then to top it all off they were back to square one when it came to completing the first trial.

"Hey." Sam's voice broke her train of thought. She turned to face him as he placed a hand on each of her shoulders "Don't worry about it. You know how Dean is. He's just being a jerk. Give him a couple minutes to calm down, and it will be like nothing ever happened." She nodded. Sam was right. Dean tended to get worked up over things, but once he had a chance to calm down his brain kicked back in and all was well. "Come on. Let's go see if we can help him find something."

They cut through the barn on their way to their bunks. They paused at the doorway when they saw Alice brushing a horse.

"Go on ahead," Alex said as she studied the woman. "I want to talk to her for a minute."

"You sure?"

She nodded and looked up at him. "Yeah. Go make sure Dean's not doing anything stupid okay?"

Sam walked away without another word. Moving farther into the barn, Alex grabbed a pair of work gloves and tried to make it look like she had a reason to be there. Alice didn't take notice of her until she spoke.

"You okay, Mrs. Cassity?"

"Fine," she replied in a hollow tone.

"You sure?"

"I really am." She seemed amazed by that fact. The more she spoke the stranger it all sounded. It was as if her husband's death hadn't affected her at all. She started to talk about their past and how she used to make fun of him.

"When did the two of you start dating?"

Alice began talking about a Valentine's Day party years before where everything had changed. "Suddenly he was cute and smart and funny. It was magic."

An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of Alex's stomach. Carl had made a deal to win her love. Not to get them money. That meant there was still another hound out there. _I've got to tell the boys._ She place a hand on Alice's arm and focused. "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help." Try as she might to get a feel what the woman was, she couldn't make it happen. No longer having her powers was becoming a real bitch.

Making haste, Alex trotted over to the bunkhouse and threw open the door to find Sam and Dean in the middle of an argument.

"No, Dean. No!" shouted Sam.

Alex looked back and forth between the brothers as she shut the door. "What's going on here?"

"Dean's planning on summoning a crossroads demon."

"Like hell." She marched forward and stood between the two brothers. "Not going to happen."

"You got a better idea? Plan 'A' bombed, so welcome to plan 'B'. We get some red-eyed bitch in a trap, then we hold a knife on her until she calls us in a pooch special delivery."

"And what happens when Crowley hears what you're doing and sends a whole pack of Cujos after us huh?" Dean didn't have an answer. "Besides, he wasn't the only one who made a deal."

"What?" the Winchesters asked in unison.

She relayed all she had learned from her conversation with Alice. There was still a Cassity out there somewhere that made a deal, and tomorrow they were all going to be in one place. It was time to double down.

Dean couldn't argue with her logic. "Two days. Then we do it my way," he said as he tossed the bag aside.

"We'll only need one." Dean walked past her and towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"To get a drink."

The door slammed behind him. Alex's eyes shifted from the now closed door to the tall man still standing in the room with her. As she looked at him, she started thinking about the look on Alice's face as she talked about _remembering_ loving her husband. The connection between them had been severe when the hound took him. Much like her bond with Sam had been cut when Crowley took the piece of his soul. Looking at him now, all of her insecurities began to resurface. _What if when I'm gone he thinks of me the same way?_

"Alex you okay?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm good. Just tired. I'm gunna go clean up and hit the sack."

Sam watched her gather her things and walk to the showers, not believing for a moment that whatever she had been thinking about a moment before wasn't bothering her.

* * *

They watched as an SUV pulled up to the estate. An old gray haired man stepped out first. Two women followed him. Ellie pointed out each of the family members to them. From what they heard, they were quite the interesting collection of souls.

"How do you know all this?" Sam asked.

"I've been working on this farm since I was 13, and I've got eyes." They all shared knowing smiles. "Okay," Ellie got back to business, "tonight is an all-hands-on-deck situation. I'm gunna need two of you inside, one cooking, the other serving dinner and pouring drinks. A lot of drinks."

Dean slapped Sam and Alex on the back. "Have fun you two. I won't wait up."

Ellie looked over at Dean. "And somebody's gunna man the grill."

This peaked Dean's interest. "What kind of grill?"

Alex wiped her hand against her forehead. The final pie was in the oven and she could finally breath for a moment. Looking through the glass door, she could see Dean flipping the steaks and decided to take him a glass of water while she got some fresh air.

"I like a man who can handle his meat," she heard Ellie say to Dean as she came through the door. Ellie walked past her without a word. When the hunter looked to her friend she couldn't help but notice the little smirk on Dean's face and roll her eyes.

"Here ya go, Romeo."

She handed Dean the water and watched as he gulped down the cool liquid. "Thanks," he said as he handed her back the glass. He glanced through the window and saw his brother's visibly tense stance as he helped fill wine glasses. "You probably ought to get in there and help Sam before he kills someone."

Alex looked inside and saw Sam clench his jaw as one of the daughters waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. She took the now empty glass from Dean and went back inside.

She quickly set about bringing food in from the kitchen. A resounding smack filled the room when she leaned over slightly to place the bowl of mashed potatoes in the middle of the table. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she looked over at the now laughing Noah Cassity. _Why you son of a…_ Sam took hold of her arm and pulled her away before she could let him have it for slapping her ass. Her losing her cool and getting them kicked off the farm was not going to help anyone.

Insults began flying across the table.

"Get cancer and die, old man."

"You first, sweetie."

Sam was shocked. "Are they always like this?" he asked Ellie as he opened another bottle of wine.

She shrugged. "More or less."

"How can you stand to work here?" Alex asked. She took the bottle from Sam.

"I love the property. I love the animals, and I tune out the people."

They shared a little laugh. Tune them out they did until they started talking about a charming man that hand spent an evening with them some time back. Their ears perked up when they started trying to remember the name. Both Sam and Alex stood up straight with wide eyes when they finally got it right. Crowley.

The instant they could slip away, Sam and Alex went in search of Dean. They found him putting out the last of the grills flames. Both of them started to talk at once, dying to share with Dean all they knew.

* * *

"Woah. Woah. Woah," Dean said as he held his hands up in front of him to signal to the others that they needed to stop. "Just calm down. Now what the hell are you two on about?"

"It's Crowley," said Alex. "The demon that made the deal was Crowley."

"Crowley?"

Sam nodded. "That's what they said. Apparently, he swung through town 10 years ago, to the day."

Dean sighed and ran a hand down his face. "That's just great. Any idea who signed the dotted line?"

"No idea," said Alex. "They all had a reason to. I mean you should hear them in there. It's freaking bedlum!"

The conversation halted as Dean's phone began to ring. He dug in his pocket and looked at the caller id before answering, placing it on speaker.

"Hey Kev. What's up?"

"Hey Dean," they heard the prophet say from the other end of the line. "Good news, uh, I think...kind of."

"Way to sound convincing there Kev," Alex deadpanned.

"Hey Alex. Sorry. Um, I found something on the tablet about the Hellhounds… uh, this mean anything to you?" He began quoting from the tablet. "The dire creatures may be seen only by the damned or through an object scorched with holy fire."

"Like Holy Oil?" Sam asked.

The three hunters all looked at each other for a moment before agreeing that It was the only logical conclusion.

"We could us a window," Dean offered.

"Or glasses," said Kevin.

A smile spread across Alex's face. "Kevin your a genius. Now get some sleep okay? You're earned it." They could hear the smile in Kevin's voice before Dean closed the phone. "We've got the stuff in the trunk right?"

"Yeah." Dean put his phone back in his pocket. He pointed to Alex. "You two stay here. Don't let JR and the gang out of your sight. I will take care of the, uh, X-ray specs."

Alex nodded and started to move back towards the house with Sam close behind.

* * *

Sam and Alex listened carefully to the family's conversation for any clues as to who else made a deal but didn't seem to be getting nowhere. All they heard was hatred and resentment. They had just cleared away the desert dishes when they heard Cindy's comment from the other room.

"Oh look," she said. "Daddy's drunk and armed. Must be Christmas."

The two hunters exchanged a panicked look before peering out the large window to see Mr. Cassity and his youngest daughter heading off into the night.

"Stay here," Sam said as he placed a hand on Alex's arm. "I'll go with them."

"You sure?" Sam nodded. He was almost through the door when Alex called out to him. "Sam." He turned back to look at her. "Be careful."

He smiled. "Always."

* * *

The rusted out tin cans on the shelves held everything from paint brushes to old horseshoe nails. Surely there must be a pair of glasses somewhere in one of them that they could use. Dean searched through each of the canisters as quickly as he could. "Bingo," he said as a found a couple of pairs of glasses. Holding them up to the moonlight, he could see that they weren't to terribly scratched. "These 'ell do."

Taking the pitcher of holy oil from the trunk of the Impala, he moved to the side of the barn and poured a small amount onto the asphalt before igniting it. He passed both pairs of glasses through the flame before placing one pair into his pocket. The other pair he placed on his face as he stood. The world seemed muted somehow when he looked at it through the scorched was as if someone had placed a blue filter on the world that made shadows less obvious and light more hazy.

Dean spotted Ellie moving his way and quickly stomped out the flame before she could see it. He gave her his best "I wasn't doing anything" look as she approached.

"I like it…" It took Dean a moment to realize what she meant. When he did, Dean removed the glasses and put them into his pocket with the other pair he'd made for his brother. "... the whole Clark Kent look."

"Ellie, hey."

"Hey." Her voice was a bit lower than normal as she spoke. "So…" She closed the gap between them and placed a hand on Dean's chest while looking him up and down. "I think you're really hot." Dean was a bit surprised by her boldness but said nothing. "You want to go to my room and have sex?"

In every possible scenario his brain had run through for this conversation when he saw her coming his way, this was definitely not one of them.

"What?"

A smile played at the corner of her mouth. "I… sorry. I don't usually do this. I guess I'm feeling my oats." She moved to close the space between their lips when Dean spoke again.

"I can't."

Ellie stopped moving and just looked at him for a moment before backing away in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. I, uh, it's Alex right? You're with her. I'm so sorry."

"Oh. No. No. No. God, no! Alex is with my brother, not me." Dean gave her a quick once over and had to stifle a groan. "I want to. Believe me."

"No, it's okay. You don't. It's fine. I guess I'm gunna…" she motioned over her shoulder and turned to leave.

Dean called out to her. "Ellie, um… rain check?"

A sad expression crossed her face. "This is one night only." She looked at him for a moment more before leaving. Dean watched her retreating form in curiosity for a moment before deciding to go find his partners.

* * *

Cindy and Alice had retired to the living room while they waited for Sam to return with their father and younger sister. The longer they were away, the more nervous Alex became. She started washing the dishes they had cleared away from the dinner table to keep herself preoccupied. Cindy called to her from the other room for more wine. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and walked into the other room with the open bottle.

"So," Cindy asked, "what's the deal with you and tall, dark, and handsome? You seem pretty cozy." Alex just glanced up at her before focusing on the wine glass again so she wouldn't overfill it. "Oh come on. I've got to know. Is he that big all over? I mean, does he get the job done if you know what I mean?"

"Cindy!" Alice chided her.

"What? It's just a question." She looked back at Alex who was trying very hard to keep her cool. "So, what's he like?"

Alex was just about to tell her where she could shove her wine glass when she heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire off in the distance. All three women looked towards the window.

"Stay here," Alex said as she moved towards the door. She started reaching for the gun hidden at the small of her back until she saw Sam and Mr. Cassity running towards the house. She let out a sigh of relief.

Opening the door, she watched as Dean ran towards his brother.

"Where's the girl?" Alex asked when they reached the door. Sam gave her a look of remorse as he shook his head. That's all she needed to know that Margot was gone.

"What was that thing?" Noah Cassity asked as he sat with his near frantic daughters.

Dean was more than willing to shoot straight with them all at this point. "It was a Hellhound. See, when you sell your soul to a demon, they're the ones that come and rip it out of you."

"Demon?" asked Alice.

Alex gave Dean an admonishing look. "Way to be subtle, Dean."

"We don't have time for subtle anymore, Alex. One of you made a deal, and we need to know who it is right now."

The family still seemed to be horribly confused. Dean went into telling them all about Crowley and the ten year ticking clock. Nobody seemed to believe him. They looked at the hunters as if they had all lost their minds and remained silent.

"All right," Dean said. "Sam, Alex, seal 'em in."

Sam tossed Alex a bag of goofer dust from his coat pocket and they went about spreading it near every possible exit.

"What is that stuff?" Noah asked.

"It's called goofer dust," Dean explained. "It'll keep the Hellhound out…. for a while."

"What is that - how long?"

"Long enough for me to stab it in its throat." The old man began to stammer and complain about how they couldn't do this. Dean quickly silenced him by drawing his gun and continuing on. "Yes, I can. You want to know why? Because it's what I do. And buddy I'm the best. See, I gut old yeller out there, and maybe - just maybe - you walk away. I don't - you're meat." He pointed the gun at him. "So, sit down, shut up… and put these on." He produced a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket.

The handcuff idea didn't go over so well. Alex eventually had to tell them that either they could put them on, or she would do it for them. When nobody moved, she took the cuffs and started securing them to the furniture. She gave Alice an apologetic smile as knelt down to fasten the cuff.

"I don't… Why are you doing this?"

"So I can save you life."

Noah didn't like that answer very much. "Like you saved Margie?"

Alex looked away. The guilt she felt was almost overwhelming. She should have spotted the hound sooner. If she had done that, then this whole thing would be over. Sam could see the weight slowly crushing her and stepped in.

"Look, I get that you're upset. But don't blame her okay? She could be the one thing that keeps the rest of your family alive."

They shut up pretty quickly after that. Once the hunters were satisfied that the room was sufficiently secure, they gathered in the far corner to talk about their next move. Dean wanted Sam and Alex to stay with the family while he went looking for the hound. That was an idea they quickly shot down.

"I'm gunna come with you," Sam said.

"Wrong."

"No Dean," said Alex. "There is no way in Hell you're going out there by yourself. If anyone is going to go out there alone it's going to be me. I don't need any stupid glasses to see the damn thing if it's coming for me."

"No. If you go out there he'll be distracted." He gestures to his brother. "And I need both of you to be safe."

"When are we ever safe, Dean?" Sam asked.

"This is different."

"How?" Sam and Alex ask in unison.

Dean sighed. He didn't know how to explain to them that securing their future meant more to him than his own life. He'd seen them literally go through Hell and back to save each other. He couldn't let that be for nothing. He was willing to make this sacrifice for them, for their future.

"So I'm gunna do these trials," he said. "I'm gunna do them alone. End of story. You're staying here. I'm going out there. If landshark comes knocking, you call me." He looked at Alex. "Don't try to be a hero." He turned his attention back to his brother. "If you try to follow me. I'm gunna put a bullet in your damn leg." Dean walked away. He paused as he opened the door and turned back to warn Alex. "That goes for you too, sweetheart. You stay with Sammy and make sure the Brady bunch in there doesn't get turned into puppy chow." With that, Dean went off in search of their four-legged friend. Sam and Alex watched him go for a moment before going back to check on the family.

* * *

Sam stood at the large picture window peering out into the night with his scorched glasses while Alex sat on the far side of the room, shotgun in hand, keeping a watch on all the doors. Dean had been gone for about half an hour now with no sign of the hound. All the family had done the entire time had been to argue. Cindy and Noah were the worst. Every time one of them would start in on the other, Alex would roll her eyes and suppress the desire to groan out loud.

It was apparently getting on Sam's nerves as well. He turned and shouted, "All right. That's enough!"

"Oh, is it, four-eyes? Is it enough?" Cindy spat back at him.

Alex started to bristle. When Noah Cassity said something about not understanding why they thought that one of them made a deal she couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

"You want to know why?" she said as she rose to her feet. "Your family struck oil where there wasn't any. Everyone suddenly seems to be having these big, life altering wishes going on, and Crowley is an ass that loves to screw people over. That's why I think someone made a deal. Now, if one of you would be so kind as to step up and admit that you did it everything will go much smoother." She paused. Crickets. "That's what I thought." She took up her position again with a huff causing Sam to smile.

_She did always have a way with words._ He watched her for a moment. When her eyes met his, she returned his smile. He had no doubt that it had felt good to say all of that after listening to them bicker all night long. A silent conversation passed between the two until Noah spoke and ruined the moment.

"I need to take a leak."

It was Sam's turn to huff. "Hold it."

"Yeah, at my age? Not really an option, so either you let me go or get me a bottle."

Alex stood. She grabbed a vase and dumped the fake flowers onto the floor before presenting the now empty vase to the head of the Cassity family.

"Here ya go."

Everyone had been so preoccupied with Cindy and Noah's bickering that they hadn't noticed Alice slowly working her way out of the handcuffs until she suddenly made a break for it. She was out of the room and through the door before anyone could react. Alex immediately started to give chase. Sam caught her by the arm as she reached the door.

"No, you stay with them. I'll go get her."

Alex started to protest, but he was already through the door. A chilling howl pierced the air as she moved back into the sitting room. She raced to the window, but couldn't see anything. Sam shoved Alice back into the room."Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah." Another howl sounded. "We should go help Dean." She started to move through the door only to slam into Sam's massive frame.

"I'll go. You stay with them encase it get's here first." She started to protest. Sam grabbed the back of her head and pressed his lips to hers in a brief but fierce kiss. "I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared into the night to look for his brother.

Sam raced through the night, gun at the ready, in search of his brother. The glasses on his face felt awkward. They kept trying to slide down his nose. His heart began to race when another howl sounded in the night, much closer than before.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he emerged from the barn. Sam raced to his brother. "Where's Alex?"

"She's with the family. Dean, the Hellh…"

Dean cut him off. "Good. She can keep them out of the way. It's after Ellie."

"Ellie?"

"Yeah. I'll explain later. Look, she's holed up in her room." He motioned to his right. "I'll go this way. You go around back. You see anything, you holler. Understand?"

The resoluteness in his brother's tone left no room for argument. Sam simply nodded and went off in the direction Dean had indicated. He was halfway around the barn when he hears his brother's shout of pain and took off running.

Dean was positioned against the far wall, eyes closed. He held a hand to his bleeding side as the Hound snarled just a few feet from his face. Scanning the room, Sam saw the knife lying on the ground a few yards away from him. Sam raised his shotgun and fired two shots into the beast side before diving for the knife. His fingers were just about to close around the object when something akin to a freight truck drove into him. Sam landed on his back and let out a sharp cry when a slicing pain exploded across his side.

* * *

The hound's howl was so close now that Alex kept expecting to see it at any moment. She kept a watchful eye out the window and a ready hand on her shotgun.

"Are they really going to kill us?" Alice asked.

Alex turned away from the window. "Not on my watch."

The two women exchanged small smiles until shots could be heard outside. Alex spun back to the window, eyes wide, hoping to see the boys. There was no sign of them. Another shot sounded.

"Everyone just stay here," Alex ordered as she dashed for the door.

She raced in the direction the shots had come from. Her heart was racing. Sam's name kept running on a loop in her mind. _Have to get to Sam. Have to get to Sam._ She heard him cry out in pain just before bursting through the door, shotgun at the ready. Dean lay barely conscious on the far side of the room while Sam was struggling to hold the demon dog off of him. It was snapping violently at his face. Alex raised her gun, but quickly dropped it. They were too close together. It wasn't salt rounds that she was packing, and at her current distance she couldn't be sure she wouldn't hit Sam.

That's when she saw it. The blade was laying between her and Sam. She dropped the gun and moved without hesitating. She slid to her knees and grabbed the blade. Momentum carried her forward into a roll. She crashed into the beast, pulling him off of Sam. They continued to roll, the Hound thrashed in her grip as she came to a stop on her back. The creatures hot sulfur laden breath spread across her face. Tightening her grip on the knife, she plunged it upward into the animal's side. It's growls turned into howls of pain as she sliced open it's abdomen. Hot black blood poured from the hound, bathing Alex in the sticky substance.

* * *

Dean groaned as he lowered his shirt back down. Alex had just finished stitching his side, and he was feeling it. His head was fine. Just a knot from where he'd hit it when the Hound had attacked him. Both of the boys had gashes in their sides. Since Dean seemed to be bleeding more, she'd checked him first once she'd had washed as much of the Hounds blood off of her as possible. Most of it clung to her clothes and not her skin. She'd never been so thankful for wearing layers before in her life. Her favorite jacket was ruined, but everyone seemed to be okay for the most part. That's what was important.

"You need to go to a hospital," Ellie said as she watched Dean hop down from the table he'd been sitting on.

"Oh, I've had worse," he replied.

Ellie looked to Alex as she finished cleaning up the supplies she'd used. Getting no answer from her, she turned her attention to Sam. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "He's had worse."

She had a hard time believing that. Then again, just a few days ago she'd never met a hunter. So what did she know?

"So, what now?" she asked.

Dean was the one to answer her. "Now you start running. We'll make you a hex bag. Alex here's pretty good at them. If Crowley can't find you, then he won't be able to sic another mutt on you."

"So, I'm not going to Hell?"

"Not today."

Those words hung in the air for a moment as both Sam and Alex struggled to hold their tongues. She was still going to end up in Hell eventually. There was no way around that. It was actually the first topic up for discussion once Dean asked her to leave the room. His only response was that it wouldn't happen if they could close the gates. The mention of the gates suddenly reminded Alex of the spell.

"Give me the spell," she said as she stood up from where she had crouched to retrieve her bloody clothing and held out her hand for the piece of paper Dean has written it on. Instead of giving her the scrap of paper, Dean grabbed the shirt out of her hand. Alex shook her head and sighed. "It's not going to work Dean."

He didn't listen. "Kah-nuh-ahm-dahr." He waited for a moment but nothing happened. He tried it again.

Sam stepped up next to Alex and placed a hand on her shoulder. He exchanged a brief look with her before turning his attention back to his brother. "Dean…"

"Doesn't matter," he said before turning to face the others. "We'll track down another Hellhound, and _I'LL_ kill it."

A sad look crossed Alex's face. "No, Dean. We're not."

"Alex, I didn't pass the test."

"But I did!"

They hadn't realized that they had been increasing in volume until she had shouted. Both hunters took a step back. Alex took a deep breath and continued.

"You may not have passed it, Dean, but I did. And I'm doing the rest of them."

"Like Hell you are." "No!" The boys said in unison.

Sam studied Alex's face when she turned to look at him. She clearly had not expected him to jump into this discussion, but he'd heard the resolute tone in her voice and panicked. He could only imagine the road that lay ahead for her if she did decide to continue these trials, and the thought scared him. Nothing Heaven had ever asked of any of them had been pleasant. The last time they'd played by the rules they'd both ended up in Hell. He didn't want that to happen to her again.

"Look guys," Alex looked back and forth between the two brothers, "I'm closing the gates of Hell, and that's all there is to it."

Dean started shaking his head, "No. No, Alex. There is no way that I…"

"That you're what Dean? That you're going to let me?" She took a step closer to the elder Winchester. "You don't have a choice Dean. Look, this is a suicide mission for you. I may not be able to read your mind anymore, but I know you Dean. You walk around with this giant weight on your shoulders like it's all your responsability, but it's not. We're a team. I've got this one. So take a knee and let me handle it."

"Alex, come on…"

She placed a hand on his chest. "No. Dean, please. Let me do this." There was a pleading in her eyes when he looked at her. "You're needed here. A lot more than I am." Dean cut his eyes to Sam. There was a look of both pain and confusion at her words that caused Dean's heart to constrict in his chest. She had to know that she meant more to Sam than this, but she continued. "While I don't plan on bowing out when this is over, we all know it's a possibility. But while you want to die, I want to live. I've fought to hard to just throw in the towel now. So I'm going to do this, and you are going to make sure that if anything happens to me Sam is okay. He needs you, Dean. So please, let me do this."

Alex's eyes pleaded with Dean as Sam looked on. Dean just nodded and handed her the slip of paper. Before she could take it out of his hand, he grabbed a hold of her with his other and forced her to look at him. "Fine, but if we find another one I'm taking over. Got it?"

She nodded her agreement and looked to the paper in her hand. "Kah-nuh-ahm-dahr."

Liquid fire seared her veins, burning so intensely that she could actually see them glowing in her forearms. She let out a cry of pain and fell to her knees. Sam was at her side in an instant, pulling her into his arms and calling her name.

The pain left nearly as quickly as it started. The rush of sensation left Alex gasping on the floor. Feeling weak, she leaned into Sam and took comfort in his presence.

"Hey, hey, talk to me," he said as he brushed a strand of hair from her now sweaty face. "You alright?"

She nodded and moved to stand back up. Sam kept a hand on her arm to steady her as she rose.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I-I can do this."

Both brother's just watched her for a moment as she regained her bearings. Something had clearly just happened to her, but they both knew they weren't going to get anything more out of her. Dean took his attention off of Alex and shifted it to his younger brother. Sam look almost pained as he observed her. The words she'd just said about Sam needing him replayed in his mind. _If she thinks that my brother needs me more than he does her, she's dead wrong._ Dean quickly made an excuse to bow out of the room for a while to give them a moment. They needed to talk, and there wasn't much chance of them doing that if he was still around.

"Hey," Sam said the moment Dean closed the door behind him, "you sure you're okay?"

Alex looked down at the hand he hand placed on her arm to turn her towards him before look up at him. "Yeah. I'm okay." She gave him a sad little smile before looking away. Her eyes landed on the bloodstain on his side. "I better take a look at that," she said as she gestured to his side.

"No really. I'm okay."

"Sam, please."

Her tone was final. While she turned to gather the supplies, Sam slipped out of his plaid shirt and pulled the other over his head so that she could more easily access the wound. The sight of his naked torso made her mouth run dry. He was still the most gorgeous specimen of a man she'd ever seen. Regaining her composure, Alex made her way towards him and started cleaning away the blood.

Sam's cut wasn't nearly as deep as his brother's, but it was twice as long. It ran from up near his chest all the way down his side, disappearing under the hem of his jeans. Alex's hand stilled when she reached his waistband.

She cleared her throat. "Take your pants off."

"W-what?" Sam asked.

She gesture to the gash in his side. "It, uh, goes down farther than I thought. I need to take a look at it. So take your pants off."

Sam just looked at her for a moment before standing to remove his pants. A palpable tension rose between them as he watched her tend to the cut. Her touch was gently as she checked for additional damage and carefully bandaged his side.

"I don't think it needs stitches," she said as she taped the last piece of gauze in place. "It wasn't as deep as I thought." She stood to move away. "You don't need any stitches." Her eyes met Sam's and time stopped.

No words were said for several minutes as they just stared at each other. The air between them crackled and popped until Sam finally reached out and pulled her to him. Her lips quickly yielded to his as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. His tongue traced along her bottom lip until she opened to him, their tongues moving together in a dance they knew all too well.

Sam stood and pulled her flush against him. His hands trailed down her body until he found her luscious backside. Giving it a squeeze, he lifted her up to wrap her legs around his waist. A strangled sound of pain escaped him as her leg came into contact with his freshly bandaged side.

Alex quickly backed away. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," Sam said as he reached out to pull her back towards him. "I'm fine." She took another step back.

She shook her head no. "We can't."

"What? Alex I'm fine."

She shook her head. "It's not that, Sam." She let out a sigh. If they were going to take that next step, then he needed to know everything.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. She shook her head. "Is this about Amelia? Are you still mad at me for not looking for you? Alex I swear I…"

"No," she cut him off. "It's not that."

"Then what is it."

Alex turned and looked out the small window. She waited for several minutes, searching for the right words to say. Eventually she realized there weren't any. So she just started talking. She talked about Heaven and Hell. About the centuries she spent in Purgatory trying to get back to him. Then, she told him about Crowley.

"He took a piece of your soul, Sam."

"What?'

She took a deep breath before continuing. "When he took my magic he took a piece of your soul too."

He was confused. What could he have in his soul that Crowley would want? "What piece did he take?"

Alex turned to look at him. He could see tears glistening in her eyes as she spoke. "He took the piece that tied your soul to mine." His brow knit in confusion. "Soulmates share a piece of the other's soul. That piece is what binds them together for eternity. That's the piece that Crowley took from you, Sam. That's why you were able to stop looking for me. That's why you were able to be happy with Amelia, because your soul isn't tied to mine the way mine is to yours. Not anymore." A tear slide down her cheek before she could brush it away. "That's why I can't be mad at you Sam. You're still my soulmate, but I'm not yours anymore.I never told you because I thought I could fix it. I thought I could find a way to get it back to you, but now..."

Tears flowed unchecked after she finished speaking. Each tear was like a small dagger in his flesh. Sam moved forward and pulled her into his arms. He held her against his chest as she cried out her fear and frustration. He could only imagine what it must be like for her to carry that weight. So he did the only thing he could. He held her. He held her and promised himself that he would find a way to fix it.

**Please review.**


	14. Chapter 13

_Warning: This chapter contains adult content and may not be suitable for all readers. Reader discretion is advised._

_If you wish to skip this content, please look for ***** at the beginning and end of that section._

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 13_

A dingy little motel room bed had never looked so good. Alex flipped the light switch and dropped her bag just inside the door before moving to the farthest bed and throwing herself onto it. It was hard as a rock and the comforter a bit scratchy, but as far as she was concerned it may as well have been made of feathers.

The sound of the boys arguing as they walked into the room floated to her ears.

"I always found Curly's work a bit obvious," Sam said as he followed his brother inside.

"It's supposed to be obvious, man.." Dean replied. "They're stooges!"

"Will you two just give it a rest already?" Alex said, still laying face down in the mattress. "You've been at it for the past half hour. Enough is enough."

They'd left the Cassity farm just as soon as they gotten Ellie squared away. Alex had made her a hex bag and some instructions on how to lay low. The last thing she gave her was her cell number. "Encase of emergencies," she told her.

Dean decided to go get them all some food. He paused at the door when he realized that only Sam had mentioned what he wanted. That's when he saw Alex still lying face down in the mattress. "Hey, Alex, you okay?"

"Yep," she grumbled as she rolled onto her back and push herself into a seated position.

"You sure?" This time it was Sam that asked.

She looked back and forth between the two brothers. They both looked at her with concern.

"Yeah," she said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," Dean began, " you did just gank a Hellhound, which is no slice of pie, and, uh, there is a minefield of who knows what crap ahead. Then you made the hexbag for Ellie. I know that takes it out of you since you don't have your magic anymore. Just want to make sure that you are okay."

She gave him a soft smile. "I'm good, Dean."

Sam still wasn't convinced. He hadn't seen her this whipped in a long time. It worried him. After her revelation a few hours before, they hadn't really said much. He'd just held her until she'd pulled herself together before leaving him to get Ellie ready while he got dressed. Sam didn't realize he was staring until Alex's eyes locked with his. "I promise."

There was a moment of tense silence as Alex and Sam studied each other. Eventually, she broke the gaze and stood. "I'm gunna go take a shower. Just get me whatever sounds like it'll send me to an early grave," she told Dean before disappearing into the bathroom.

Dean looked from the closed door to his troubled brother. For a moment he thought it might have been his imagination, but he was pretty sure that there was more tension between them now than there was before. "Dude, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. He did his best to play it off as if he didn't know what Dean was talking about, but he knew his little brother better than that.

"No, nuh uh. I don't buy it. I know that look. Something happened between you two." Sam sighed. "I swear to God you two are worse than a freakin' soap opera. What happened now?"

Sam took a seat at the small table. He ran his fingers through his hair before leaning forward, his elbows resting on his legs."She told me more about what Crowley took."

"The piece of her soul? We already knew about that."

Sam shook his. He just stared at his feet for a moment before looking up at his brother. "He took a piece of mine too."

Dean stood their in silence as his brother launched into all that Alex had told him. What he heard was enough to make his head spin.

"So what? You two aren't soulmates anymore?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, Dean. I'm still hers, but she's not mine."

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know." He tried to explain the research Alex had told him she found, but it just came out muddled. Sam went back to studying his shoes and the patterns in the carpet. He still loved her. He knew that for certain. He just wasn't sure if it was going to be enough for her anymore.

* * *

The sun was barely creeping in through the windows when Dean entered with breakfast. He sat the containers down in front of his brother and friend, all three of them having been up for hours. They ate in companionable silence. Sam continued to type away at his computer while Dean and Alex combed the newspapers for anything out of the ordinary.

"I think I found something," said Alex. "It says here that a second animal attack victim was found near the Cleveland County Fairgrounds yesterday. The victim, 33 year-old Clayton Dexter, was found in the early hours of the morning. The gruesome discovery bears similar details as the attack on Casey Jones last month." She looked up at the two brothers.

"Okay, so?" Dean asked.

"It's a full moon, Dean. Don't you find that a little convenient?" He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Sam," she said. "Do you think you could hack into the county records?" He nodded.

It only took him a few minutes to find the information they were looking for. While the records for the most recent attack were not complete yet, the records for the first victim confirmed Alex's suspicion.

Dean slammed his hand down on the table. "Looks like we've got ourselves a werewolf guys."

The town was only a few hours away. So they loaded everything up and headed out. The Impala's engine roared to life as Dean turned the key in the ignition.

"It feels good to be hunting something normal again," he said as he pulled out onto the road.

The other's just nodded in agreement. It was sad really. What had their life become that something as lethal as a werewolf was considered a break?

* * *

Getting into the morgue to examine the bodies was ridiculously easy. It always was. All they had to do was dress the part, act like they belonged, and flash a phony badge. Very rarely was there any push back. The few times there were, Dean or Alex were able to easily talk their way out of it. It wasn't even a challenge anymore.

Doning a paper gown and rubber gloves, Alex carefully examined the most recent of the two victims while the boys continued to ask the sheriff questions about where the body was found. It was exactly what Alex had expected. The heart was missing. She was willing to bet top dollar that the same could be said of the first victim. She was about to ask her own question of the sheriff when a young deputy came into the room.

"We've got another one sheriff."

"Where?"

"Over by CR 1248. The call just came in."

The hunters all exchanged knowing looks.

"Uh," Sam began. "Mind if I ride along? It may help us figure out what's doing this if we can see the attack site."

He didn't seem to buy it at first. "What about the rest of ya?"

"I still have some work to do here," Alex offered. "Johnson and I can cover everything here." She gestured to Sam. "Take Young with you. He'll be able to make the best sense of the scene."

The sheriff nodded. "Alright. Come on son."

Sam nodded to the others before turning and leaving the room. Dean waited for the coast to be clear before asking Alex what she thought.

"It's definitely a werewolf," Alex said. "The only thing missing is the heart." She poked around the chest cavity a bit more. "Everything else is pretty much intact. Looks like the damage is from the monster getting the heart out."

Dean nodded as he watched Alex dispose of her gown and gloves. They were going to meet Sam out at the attack site once she made copies of the medical records. Everything happening in roughly the same area made them think the victims were somehow linked.

* * *

They rode in a comfortable silence, Alex enjoying being able to sit up front and stretch her legs out a bit for once. While he drove, Dean couldn't help but think about what his brother told him. He kept chancing quick looks at her in the passenger seat as he drove.

"Alright," Alex said after Dean looked at her for the 5th time in as many minutes. "Out with it. Something's on your mind. What is it?"

Dean didn't answer right away. He just stared out at the open road. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke.

"Sam told me about his soul."

Alex's eyes grew wide for a split second before returning to normal as she maintain her mask of indifference. "Okay."

"That's it? All you have to say is 'okay'?"

"What do you want me to say, Dean?"

"For starters, how about why didn't you say something sooner?'

It was Alex's turn to sigh and look out the window. She wasn't sure how to explain it. She hadn't wanted to tell Sam in the first place. Talking to Dean about it just seemed...weird. "I wanted to be able to fix it first." She told him about the research she had done on souls and soulmates after Henry had died far better than Sam had. There would still be traces of the connection, but it would be very fleeting. Not enough for them to still be bound.

"So what you're saying is that the reason Sam could move on and have a normal life without you was because the connection was severed?"

"Right."

"But you're still tied to him? So something like that could never happen to you?"

"Yes."

Dean's shook his head before leaning it back against the headrest. "That's so messed up."

"Tell me about it," Alex said under her breath. It was still loud enough for Dean to hear it. He chanced another look at her. It was clear how broken up the whole thing was making her. He could see it slowly eating away at her. He couldn't begin to understand what she was going through, but he knew that she could probably make it a little easier on both her and Sammy.

"You know,"he said. "Maybe it's just me, but if I spent centuries trying to get back to somebody, I'd want to spend as much time with them as I could. Even if I knew it wouldn't last."

His words weighed heavy on Alex's mind. What he said made sense to her. Maybe, just maybe, she was going about things all wrong.

* * *

Something about the attacks just didn't seem right. It wasn't just the proximity to one another, it was the age of all of the victims. They were all the same age. Only one of them lived in the area, but they had all been around the fairgrounds.

"Hey look at this," Sam said as he turned his laptop so that his brother and Alex could see the screen. "Each of the victims was in town for their 15 year high school reunion. They all went their separate ways after graduation. Maybe this has something to do with the attacks."

"You think somebody from their graduating class is settling an old score," Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, what else do we have?"

The three hunters discussed if for a few more minutes before deciding to talk to a couple of the other classmates that were in town for the reunion. Hopefully they could help them track down the werewolf.

* * *

Only one person from that graduating class still lived in the area. The other, Casey, was the first to die.

Zack Johnston owned a little auto show on the edge of town. They had hoped that he would be able to shed some more light on the recent attacks, but he wasn't a lot of help.

"I haven't talked to them in years," he said. "We didn't exactly run in the same social circle if you know what I mean." They just stood there waiting for him to continue. "Look, they treated me and brother like crap. They tormented us for four years because we were different. When we graduated, I was fine never seeing them again."

There was a clear animosity in his voice. _Anything we get out of him isn't going to be worth much_, Alex thought.

"Your brother," she said, "is he around? We'd like to talk to him."

"That's not going to happen."

Dean got a bit defensive. "Why not?"

"He's dead."

Alex made their apologies. Zack waved her off saying it was a long time ago before directing them to leave the garage.

* * *

She'd been at the library for a little over an hour without any real progress. After the local interview was a bust, Sam and Dean decided to talk to some of the other classmates that were still in town. Alex decided to look through the local library for clues.

She started by finding the class roster and looking for any new stories about individual students. It was boring and tedious work. Everything had started to blur together. Alex was just about to call it a day when one final article caught her eye.

It was a local newspaper article from a long time ago, 15 years to be exact. There was a grainy black and white photo underneath a headline that read "LOCAL TEEN DIES AT PARTY." Alex quickly read through the article.

A local teen by the name of, Jacob Johnston, had been drinking at a party with other high school students when he tripped and fell into a bonfire. While that gruesome detail was rather disturbing, that was not what made Alex's eyes grow wide. What caused her to go into a panic were the other names mentioned in the article. All of the victims had been present at the party along with Jacob's twin brother, Zack.

She took a closer look at the photo. There he was in the background glaring at the other teens. Alex read more of the article. The last paragraph cemented her already growing suspicion.

Alex grabbed her things, printed the article, and bolted for the door. Dialing Sam's number as she went.

"Hello."

"Sam? Sam," she said. "It's Zack."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"The werewolf. It's Zack."

* * *

It was a race against the clock. The moon had already risen. That meant that Zack would be wolfing out any second. Alex had explained everything to them in the car after they picked her up from the library.

"He told the police that his brother was pushed into the fire, but the others all said he fell. So they thought he just wasn't able to accept what happened. The photo showed four of his classmates with him in the background. I bet you anything he's going after the last of them tonight."

"If he's been a werewolf why wait until now?" Dean asked.

"Maybe it's something new," said Sam. "I mean, the last attack happened a month ago. Maybe that was his first time to wolf out, and when he saw his opportunity for revenge, he decided to take it."

The engine roared as Dean put his foot down, his brother's answer having convinced him of the situation. They'd already been to Zack's house and found it empty. Now they just needed to find the last remaining person in the photo. Sam worked his magic and found Kayla Greene's address in the next town over.

Alex loaded silver into all of the weapons while Sam navigated. She put the last bullet in the gun just as they pulled up outside the single story home. A scream sounded from inside the house. Alex quickly handed the boys their guns before all three of them took off in a dead run.

Dean slammed into the front door. Locked. Taking a step back, he raised his boot clad foot and kicked in the door. Pieces of splintered wood scattered as the door slammed off of the wall. They raised their guns and entered the room, spreading out to cover more ground.

A woman they assumed was Kayla came sprinting in from another room and into Sam's chest. "Go! Go! Go!" he ordered as he shoved her into the room behind him.

Being closest to the room, Alex took point and slowly entered the room the screaming woman had come from. The window at the far side of the room was smashed. Pieces of glass crunched under Alex's boot as she scoped it out. Everything was still quiet. The werewolf was gone.

She lowered her weapon and turned towards the boys. "He's not here."

A deep growling sound came from behind her moments before Alex was thrown to the ground. Her gun went sliding across the floor. Alex tried to roll over and pull herself to her feet, but the weight of the creature on top of her made it difficult to move. A cry of pain left her as the creature's claws ripped through her thigh.

Gunfire was the only sound that could be heard as both boys emptied their pistols into the wolf, forcing him off of Alex before he fell to the ground dead.

* * *

Alex poked at her leg with a hiss. "It's gunna need stitches."

"I'll do it," Sam offered.

Dean watched the two of them for a moment. It was clear that they needed to have another talk, so he decided to make himself scarce. "I think I'm gunna go hit the bar I saw up the street," he said. "Don't count on me coming back. I'll see you in the morning."

The door closed behind him, leaving the room in silence. Sam went about getting everything together he would need to to mend Alex's leg. He was grateful to Dean for leaving them alone. He just wasn't sure how to start the conversation. So he said nothing as he got everything together. The bowel of water nearly fell out of his hand when he emerged from the bathroom and found Alex removing her pants.

He hadn't expected to see her like that. Then he saw just how large the cut on her leg was. It ran nearly the entire length of her thigh. Seeing the severity of the gash instantly cleared his mind. He watched her remove the ruined garment and take a set on the end of the bed before he approached.

"Thanks," Alex said as she took the offered bottle of whiskey from Sam and downed a rather large gulp.

Sam carefully cleaned away the dried blood and dirt from her skin. She watched him carefully. His touch was so light, so gently she barely felt it. He took great care to cause her as little pain as possible while he worked. Her heart ached watching him. She wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through his hair and pull him close. She missed him so much it hurt.

Satisfied that the wound was clean, Sam held up his hand for the bottle of whiskey. Alex took another long draw from the bottle before handing it to him. He held the bottle over her leg and waited for her signal. When she nodded, he poured the amber liquid over the gash.

"Augh. Son of a… Jesus!" she exclaimed, as the liquid burned away any infection in the wound.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Alex took the bottle and had another drink. "Let's just get this over with."

Focusing on the task at hand helped Sam keep his mind off of how amazing her bare skin felt under his hand. He focused on each and every stitch, making it as quick and painless as possible. She let out little hisses of pain from time to time as he pulled the thread through her skin. Five minutes later, Sam finished the final stitch and covered it with fresh gauze.

He paused after putting the last piece of medical tape in place. A long thick scare crossed the new one she'd just earned. While he had once know every scar and mark on your body, time and distance had added new ones to both of their bodies that the other didn't know the story too, but there was something about this one that stood out.

It was old and had turned white with age and become smooth to the touch. But there were random patches along the edges that looked new. The skin was still a reddish pink as if it had just recently healed. Sam didn't realize he was running his finger along the scare until she spoke.

"Wendigo," Alex said. Sam's head snapped up. "My first day in Purgatory. I didn't know where I was or what was happening when it jumped me from behind. I managed to kill it and run off, but I didn't really have the right stuff to stitch it up ya know? It took a long time to heal."

He traced one of the rough edges with his finger. "And this?"

Alex looked down to see what he was indicating and sighed. "I didn't have a second set of clothes, so when Dean and I first got back and I went to change… some of the denim had worked it's way into my skin as it healed. It ripped away with the pants when I took them off."

Sam flinched. He could only imagine what that must of felt like, and another waive of guilt consumed him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What?"

He kept gently running the pad of his thumb along the scar as he spoke. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I should have looked harder. I should have fought to…"

Alex shushed him by placing a hand on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. Her gray-blue eyes shone with sincerity. "It's not your fault, Sam. I don't blame you for anything. None of it. You didn't know where to look, and you didn't have a soul. That's on me." He started to protest, but she stopped him with a shake of her head. "You lost your soul because you were trying to hold onto me. I caused all of this." He tried to protest once more, but again she wouldn't let him. "Especially now." Sam suddenly became confused. "I… I've been so focused on what's missing that I haven't spent any time on what I have." She scooted closer to the edge of the bed and pulled him towards her. Sam's position on his knees made him almost perfectly level with her. "I love you, Sam. God help me I do. I just…"

He closed the space between them and joined his lips to hers. They both groaned at the feeling. Their lips sliding together in perfect unison. Alex tangled her hands in Sam's silky hair and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. His hands slid up her thighs to rest on her hips, his fingers playing with the flesh just beyond the hem of her shirt.

Alex wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his body flush to hers as his tongue slid past her lips to duel with her own. She moaned at the exquisite sensation it cause to course throughout her entire body. That sound caused Sam to shiver, his need for her growing. When Alex reached for the bottom of his shirt and began pulling it up his body, he pulled away to allow her to remove the piece of instant his shirt was off, Sam reached to pull off hers as well. He growled at the sight of her naked flesh. They hungrily reached for each other. Hands and lips wandering, groping, feeling every inch of flesh they could reach. He pulled back and just looked into her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," she said back in a hoarse whisper. "So much."

Their pace slowed. The frenzy gave way to tender exploration as they became re-familiarized themselves with each other's bodies. They removed the last of their clothing and worked their way up the bed.

Sam trailed kisses down her neck and across her jaw. Alex turned her head to the side, giving him better access to the spot on her neck that he knew would make her moan. He spent a few moments there. Biting and sucking until a visible mark began to form. He wanted the whole world to know that she was his.

Leaving her neck, Sam trailed kisses down to her chest. His tongue darted out from time to time to taste her sweat covered skin. His hot breath danced along her already hardened nipples. He pulled one of the sensitive nubs into his mouth and began to suck. Alex's back arched off the bed. Another moan left her when his hand started needing her other breast. She felt his teeth scrape her, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to her groin.

"Fuck! Sam!" she cried.

The way her body responded to him caused his achingly hard cock to twitch. He groaned. Moving his mouth from one breast to the other, Sam slid his hand down her side and across her stomach. He kept going farther south until he reached her drenched core. "Fuck. Baby you're soaked" he groaned.

Wasting no time, he plunged two fingers inside of her and curled them against that secret spot inside of her that drove her insane. Sam's weight on top of her was the only thing that kept her from leaping off the bed. She whined, already close to the edge and begged him to enter her. "I need you inside me."

The moment they joined as one brought feelings of euphoria and pleasure to both of them. Sam kept their pace slow and steady, careful of her injured leg.

Moans and sighs filled the air as they moved together. "Augh, Sam," Alex sighed as she felt her end nearing. Sam adjusted his angle ever so slightly to rub against the magic spot he knew would drive her crazy. The coil inside of her burst, sending her tumbling over the edge with a shout. Sam following close behind, her name like a prayer on his lips.

* * *

It started as a small scratch at the back of her throat that irritated her. Soon it turned into a violent cough that forced her to wake. Alex had been sleeping peacefully in Sam's arms as he spooned up against her until the cough forced her to get up.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

Alex sat up on the edge of the bed. "Y- yeah." She raised her hand to her mouth, covering it with the back of her hand, as she began to cough again. She could feel liquid landing on the back of her hand as a metallic taste filled her mouth "I'm just gunna go get a drink of water," she said.

She made her way to the bathroom and quickly shut the door behind her as she flipped on the light. The harsh light hurt her eyes for a moment as they adjusted to the sudden change. They were still mostly closed as she reached to turn on the faucet so she could wash the blood off of the back of her hand and get a small drink of water.

She opened her eyes and looked at the crimson liquid on the back of her hand. Looking up at her reflection, she saw some of the color on her lips as well. A small shiver of fear ran down her spine as she washed away the evidence that something was terribly wrong.

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	15. Chapter 14

**I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.**

_Chapter 14_

Stretching her tired muscles, she looked over at her bedmate with a smile. Sam's hair was tousled and sticking out all over the place. His lips were slightly parted allowing soft snores to escape. It had been incredibly late when they'd made it back to the bunker. Each of them had been so tired that they'd gone straight to bed. Alex had actually been headed down the hallway to her own room when Sam had taken a hold of her hand and pulled her into his.

They hadn't really talked about anything since their night together, but it didn't matter. One look in his puppy dog eyes and she knew where she was supposed to be. Consequences be damned. She'd worry about eternity later. Now as she laid there looking at him, she knew she'd made the right choice.

The sensation at the back of her throat warned her that another coughing fit was coming. She'd had several recently. There hadn't been any more blood, so she'd just shrugged it off as a cold her body was trying to fight off. Deciding that trying to go back to sleep was pointless, Alex very carefully got out of bed and padded down the hallway for a drink of water.

The kitchen light hummed slightly overhead as she flipped the switch. The harsh light stung her eyes for a moment before she made her way to the cabinet for a glass. She noticed the freshly brewed coffee and assumed that Dean was already up. She thought about drinking the coffee for a moment, but decided to stick with her original plans for a glass of water.

The first drink of water tasted wonderful. It soothed her sore throat and refreshed her senses. The second was not so rewarding. A coppery taste met her tongue when she swished the water around in her mouth. The taste was so horrible that she actually spat the water back into the glass. She stared with wide eyes as the water turned pink.

Running to the sink, she spat into it and nearly screamed in terror at the sight of her blood. She looked at herself in the mirror. _Pull it together, Alex_ she told herself. She immediately turned on the sink and started working to rinse out both the glass and the sink. If either of the boys thought anything was wrong with her they would make her stop the trials. She was not going to let that happen.

She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't notice Dean walk into the kitchen for his second cup of coffee. He studied her. Her movements were frantic and harsh. Even with her back to him, he would bet his stylish "dead man robe" she was frowning.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Alex did her best to keep her face neutral as she spun around to look at him. "Wh - nothing. Why?"

Dean motioned to the sink with his mug, "because you looked like you were in the middle of something there."

Looking to the sink at her back, Alex made sure every trace of blood was gone before she looked back at him. "I uh just getting something off the bottom of the sink." He didn't look like he really believed her, but any chance he had to question her disappeared when his brother came into the room behind him.

"Morning," Sam muttered as he shuffled around Dean and made his way to Alex. He gave her a quick peck on the lips in greeting. She silently prayed that there was no trace of blood on them as they pulled apart.

"Either of you heard from Kevin?" Dean asked.

Sam poured himself a cup of coffee. "No. I haven't." He held the pot up to Alex asking if she wanted a cup. She shook her head no.

Dean came up behind him. "Here give me some of that." Sam filled his mug. "What about you Alex? You hear anything from brainiac recently."

"No. Not yet."

The three of them moved into the control room and continued talking.

"What's it been? Like three weeks?" asked Dean. "I mean come on man. It's a book. Read it."

Alex took a seat across from him at the map table. "If reading God's handiwork were that easy, Dean, we wouldn't need a prophet to do it." She quirked an eyebrow at him. He nodded his concession. "You hear from Cas yet?"

Dean shook his head. "Nothing."

"Okay," said Sam. "So no word from Kevin, and Cas is MIA. Now what?"

"Personally I vote we take a couple days off," Alex offered. "I think we could all use a few days to just research and recharge before we hit the trail again. At least I could."

Sam agreed with her. While they could all use a break, he was actually kind of worried about her. There were bags under her eyes that hadn't been there before, and the number of coughing fits she was having made him a bit uneasy. Alex didn't get sick very often, thank God, but when she did she was down for the count. Hopefully taking a few days off would let her body heal.

* * *

_The concept of the human soul is far too complicated a matter to fully understand in its enti..._

Alex slammed the book shut in frustration. "Fuck!" It was all the same. Every single book she found said the same thing, and it was really starting to piss her off. All she had done for the last week was research ways to mend a soul with little to no progress.

"Still no luck?" Sam asked as he walked into the room.

He placed a steaming cup of hot coffee in front of her as she held her head in her hands.

"It's ridiculous. You'd think with all their knowledge the Men of Letters would have learned something about severed souls." She rubbed her temples for a moment before reaching for her mug. Sam's mug made a soft thudding sound as he placed it on the table before going to stand behind her. A soft moan escaped Alex's mouth as his large hands began to work at the knots in her neck and shoulders. "That feels nice."

He gave a soft chuckle. Once he was convinced that she was at least somewhat relaxed, he took his seat to her right once more. "Better?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thank you."

"No problem." They sat in silence for a moment enjoying their coffee. Even though she was more relaxed, Sam could practically hear the gears in Alex's head turning.

When she had possessed magic a lot of mystical knowledge just came to her. It poured out of her like water when she needed it. Now it was a bit more difficult. Old spells came to mind with perfect recall. It was just the new stuff that seemed to be missing.

"You know I'm not going anywhere right?" Alex pulled herself from her daydream and gave him a weak smile. He took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

"I know."

And she did know that. She knew that he had no intention of going anywhere. The bad feeling in the pit of her stomach just wouldn't listen.

Sam stood up and pulled her hand slightly. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"You need a distraction."

* * *

A sparing match may not have been what first popped into Alex's mind when Sam had offered to distract her, but she had to say it was working. Getting up and getting moving was clearing her head. The physical exertion was forcing her to relax and let out a little frustration.

Ten minutes in, the two of them took a small break to get a drink of water. She almost forgot how to swallow when Sam took off his shirt. Seeing his perfectly toned torso always got to her. He was covered in sweat. Each gleaming muscle flexing and straining with every little movement.

Alex eventually came back to herself and finished her drink. The two hunters were just preparing to start up again when her body was racked with another round of ragged coughs.

The now familiar coppery taste of her own blood hit her tongue. Alex covered her mouth with the back of her hand and quickly turned her back to Sam before he could see what was happening.

"Alex, you okay?" he asked, voice full of concern as he placed a hand on her back.

Wiping her lips, Alex slowly stood back up. She smeared the blood on her hand across her black yoga pants in hopes that their dark color would hide the blood. "I'm good," she said as she turned to face him. "Stupid cold. Guess I overdid it a bit huh?"

His brow knit together. "Yeah I guess. Maybe you should go lay down for a bit."

She nodded her agreement and slowly left the room. Sam's eyes never left her. Something wasn't right. He knew that. He just couldn't quite figure out what it was.

* * *

The arrow flew wide left of the target and buried itself in the drywall. It was the third shot in a row that hadn't hit the bullseye. In fact, each shot Alex took got farther and farther off target.

"What's wrong with you?"

Alex jumped at the sound of the deep masculine voice coming from behind her. Turning, she could see Dean leaning against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest, and a scowl on his face.

"Jesus, you scared me," she said, placing a hand on her heart.

That was enough to prove to him that something was wrong. Nobody snuck up on Alex like that. "I can see that. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." She turned to go retrieve her arrows.

"Bullshit." He pushed off the wall and met her at the end of the range. A particularly stubborn arrow refused to come out of the wall. Alex wiggled and pulled the shaft, but it was no use. So Dean reached around her and swiftly pulled in loose with a single tug. He suddenly became even more suspicious. The arrow had not felt particularly stuck. It was something that Alex definitely should have been able to handle.

She thanked him for his help before turning to put her weapons away. Working with them was only making her fear and suspicion grown, and she wasn't ready to really deal with that yet. "I know your lying." She tried to keep the look of fear from her eyes as she watched him move closer. "I've know you a hell of a long time, Alex. Longer than Sam even. I've seen you use that thing. There's no way you miss that shot." He crossed his arms and glowered down at her. "So tell me, what is going on with you?"

There was a brief moment where she thought about telling him everything. She thought about telling him about the blood and how terrified she was of what she would be like after the second trial, but she couldn't. He would tell Sam and that would cause a whole other mess of trouble. It was best for her to just keep her mouth shut and push forward.

"I already told you, Dean. I'm f…"

He waved her off. "Yeah, I know. Your fine. If you can't tell me, at least tell Sam. He's the one who sent me down here." She looked confused. "He thought you might talk to me since you aren't saying anything to him. He's worried about you Alex, and frankly so am I."

* * *

Seeing the look on his brother's face when he had to tell that he hadn't gotten anything out of Alex was like a dagger to the heart. They both knew that something was wrong, and Alex's refusal to talk about it only convinced them that it was something serious.

He took a seat on the edge of his bed and looked up to the heavens.

"Cas," he prayed, "you got your ears on? Listen, you know I am not one for praying, 'cause in my book it's... it's the same as begging. But this is about Alex. Cas, something's wrong, and she's not talking. She's covering pretty good, but I can tell she's hurting. I'm afraid these trials are going to kill her and if they do…" his voice broke. He paused for a moment as he struggled for composure before continuing on.

"Sam can't handle losing her again. I don't care what Alex thinks. I know my brother and there is no way he makes it out of this if she goes down. So I'm asking you, please, keep an eye out for her okay?" There was no response. Dean's shoulders sagged. They were on their own.

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	16. A Message from the Author

Due to the continual theft of my work, I will be closing my account. My Sam and Alex series is being moved to AO3. It will take me some time to get all of the material moved over. Once it has all been moved, I will delete it from this site and continue the story there. Thank you for your understanding.


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